May 13th, 2018 at 8:35 am UTC · 3 min read
Brickblock is a fintech company providing a digital platform where asset providers can tokenize real-world assets. This technology allows users to invest in individual real estate assets as well as real estate funds (REFs), exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and coin funds.
Through Brickblock, asset providers can issue unique tokens – called a Proof-of-Asset (PoA) token – that legally entitle the owner to the profits of the underlying asset.
The tokens are bought and traded through Brickblock’s smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, enabling lower fees with greater transparency, and without the minimum amounts, geographic restrictions, and counterparty risks typically associated with traditional investment models.
For developers and managers looking for project funding, Brickblock offers an attractive financing solution by granting access to a global market, a frictionless investment process, and quicker settlements.
Brickblock is preparing the tokenization of the first residential real estate asset, located in Wiesbaden, Germany, through its technology. The company’s final ICO period starts on May 9th and runs until May 15th.
Most recently, Brickblock raised 5 million euros in funding from the fintech venture capital firm Finch Capital. This brings the total sum of money raised to date to approximately 11 million euros including ICO contributions and private deals.
The Gibraltar-headquartered business, founded in 2017 by Jakob Drzazga and Martin Mischke, has appointed Radboud Vlaar, Partner of Finch Capital, to its Board of Directors following this investment. Brickblock is keen to work in close partnership with an experienced international financial technology investor, and celebrates this important milestone.
The business, which also has operations in Berlin, Germany, employs 25 full-time staff from 17 different nationalities. Brickblock established a legal framework for tokenizing assets and allows Brickblock’s clients to connect legal contracts to their tokens. Its smart contracts were recently audited and approved by ConsenSys Diligence, a company at the forefront of the blockchain space.
Jakob Drzazga, Brickblock’s CEO and co-founder, commented: “We are excited to welcome Finch Capital to the Brickblock family. Our mission is to revolutionize the way real-world assets are bought and traded, and we are confident that Finch Capital will play a vital role in helping us realize this vision through the firm’s contacts and resources in the financial industry.”
Radboud Vlaar, Partner at Finch Capital, said: “The real estate sector is the biggest investable asset class in the world, with a value of $200 trillion USD. We have seen the mortgage and brokerage market being disrupted, and the time is now ripe to disrupt the investment and trading side. Brickblock is well suited to lead this transformation, leveraging the blockchain to reduce costs for investors up to 80% and making it a frictionless and more liquid investment asset class. We are excited to support Jakob and his team to build out Brickblock as it gets greater adoption in the months to come and establishes itself as the go-to platform for tokenized asset transactions.”
More info can be found here.