Search results for: “blockchain”

  • In Virginia, Using Blockchain-Like Tech for Land Records

    Land titles need to be stored for as long as the land lasts, and they need to be stored securely. They represent major investments. This is why the title insurance industry exists. Title fraud is one of the big threats to the integrity of our land records. Criminals who can forge titles and get past…

  • A Blockchain Property Deed

    Milestone in Vermont The Vermont city of South Burlington has become a trendsetter in blockchain deed recording. Looking at the South Burlington test run, we can see that a deed on the blockchain doesn’t look like some futuristic metaverse creation. (Scroll here for a look at the deed.) Instead, it resembles your typical property deed. The…

  • Hello, Blockchain! Welcome to Wall Street

    People with Fidelity 401k or retirement accounts might have noticed a new addition to their home screens: listed among the daily commodity prices is the price of bitcoin. Looks like Fidelity is now poised to allow bitcoin trading in some 34 million individual investor accounts.  Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Crypto Outlook Report points out that bitcoin…

  • Deloitte Calls Blockchain “Next Big Thing in Commercial Real Estate”

    The leading international accounting firm Deloitte has announced a new blockchain report. The firm says blockchain-based smart contracts could “revolutionize” commercial real estate. Deloitte says blockchain will work for leasing and selling real estate. Indeed, Deloitte says the technology is poised to take on 50% of all commercial rentals and sales.

  • Hype and Innuendo: Who’s Talking About Blockchain in Real Estate Now?

    Marc Andreessen is concerned about the state of U.S. housing. (If the name sounds familiar, but you can’t pinpoint it, Andreessen co-founded Netscape, and serves on the board of directors of Meta/Facebook.)   Observing that “our country is creating households faster than we’re building houses,” Andreessen lays out several other issues that point to the…

  • Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: NAR Dives In

    The National Association of REALTORS® is the largest U.S. real estate trade group. Now, it has a Cryptocurrency Presidential Advisory Group. The reason? To learn and think about crypto in real estate — now, and in the future. Leslie Rouda Smith, president of NAR, wrote in June: I’m excited to tell you that I’ve appointed…

  • Blockchain Makes Headway in Carbon-Busting

    Not Ready for Prime Time in Mortgages, But… Despite the growing pains and the volatility, crypto assets (the good ones, at least) are finding their use cases. Numerous financial and tech giants are offering customers digital asset options, and investing in the sector in various ways. The federal government recently put all hands on deck…

  • The Bahamas: Reborn as a Blockchain Real Estate Hub?

    Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Andrew Yang made appearances at the Crypto Bahamas conference this year. The blockchain company FTX, one of the event’s hosts, boasts Tom Brady in an Ambassador role. Co-hosting the event was SALT, the geopolitical thought leadership forum. The Bahamian Prime Minister, Philip Davis, opened the event. Clearly, cryptocurrency is welcome…

  • Blockchain: Why It Feels Different This Year

    Bitcoin hit a $68K+ high in November 2021; it’s just under 40K today. But something is going on with digital assets that should be on everyone’s radar. They are part of the property system in 2022 — in a way they weren’t before.

  • Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Residential Real Estate

    Spring 2022 Update Cryptocurrency adoption has been on a steady upward trend. So has its blockchain-based technology. The blockchain is a database that preserves indelible records. Each block in the chain contains proof of individual claims and transactions that have happened or that will happen in the future.

  • Why Blockchain Real Estate Could Reach an Inflection Point in 2022

    A Hint at Regulation to Come No pain, no gain. The adage rings true at the gym, and it’s also an apt description for real estate transactions. Is any legal milestone loaded with more bureaucracy, more back-and-forth questions, more legions of intermediaries—all racking up fees for the documents they produce every step of the way?…

  • Crypto at the Beach: Puerto Rico’s Blockchain Buzz

    Puerto Rico is welcoming residents from the mainland in record numbers. For years running, financial tech startups have set up headquarters in Puerto Rico, so the growing list of newcomers from the mainland reads like part of the tech sector who’s-who list. The big draw? A law that lets new residents pay nothing on capital…

  • Blockchain of the Rich and Famous?

    Luxury Portfolio International now finds cryptocurrency closing in on gold as the most sought-after store of value among the world’s affluent people. The finding is based on a survey of more than 3,000 respondents, as noted in the firm’s report State of Luxury Real Estate 2021: Finances of the Luxury Home Buyer. Well over half…

  • Start Spreading the News: Blockchain Deed Recording Comes to New York City

    New York City’s Department of Finance is trying out blockchain. Can the technology make recording and keeping deeds a better process? The test run, handled by Medici Land Governance (MLG), will find out whether the method will work in a massive city, the company stated in August 2021. MLG is owned by Overstock.com — an…

  • Blockchain and the Mortgage Loan

    In debates over a 2021 infrastructure bill, blockchain tax is contested ground. Cryptocurrency proponents are keen on keeping the crypto mining and development communities in the United States. Heavy regulations and taxes could run the risk of tossing the baby out with the bathwater, they warn. Overbroad taxation could suppress the evolving blockchain technology that…