Estonia-based Hansecoin, a project to tokenize hard assets like real estate, is to become the first project to be listed on crypto exchange CoinMetro, the company announced Thursday.
Tokenization potentially offers numerous advantages over traditional real estate, including improved liquidity and “fractional ownership” – the ability for a real estate owner to split up their home and sell off equity stakes. Other potential benefits include greater transparency, enhanced security and simplified management.
Asset-backed tokens and stablecoins have boomed in popularity in recent months as the industry looks to reduce the volatility of crypto by providing a safe floor for the token price. Hansecoin differs from other attempts to launch tokenized assets as the company claims it will become fully regulated and compliant with the requirements of the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority.
Hansecoin is the brainchild of Dr. Chris Kacher and Axel Jacob, and promises to deliver over 200 apartments in Tallinn, Estonia, where CoinMetro has been developing its crypto platform.
Jacob and Kacher believe they’ve spotted a funding gap in obtaining development capital for asset-backed projects between EUR 1.5 million and EUR 10 million in size and so Hansecoin is positioned as a solution to securing investment for projects that exist within this funding gap. These projects are too large for friends and family investment but too small for listed funds and wealth management.
Kevin Murko, CEO of crypto exchange, CoinMetro, sees asset-backed tokens as the next phase of crypto financing:
The asset provides a floor to the price and increases stability versus speculative tokens. Hansecoin’s residential development in our home city of Tallinn is a perfect example of an asset-backed token, and that’s why we have chosen it as the first project on our ICO Express platform.