TechCrunch founder’s Kiev apartment becomes first real estate NFT

Propy, the real estate transaction platform, will soon auction a real estate-backed non-fungible token (NFT), as per a release to CryptoSlate.

Going under the hammer is a modern apartment in Kiev, Ukraine (owned by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington) that previously made history as the first-ever blockchain-based real estate sale.

In 2017 I purchased a condo in Kiev using ETH. For the first time ever, title transfer was recorded on a blockchain. https://t.co/Ej4O6khlPw

— Michael Arrington (@arrington) May 25, 2021

The apartment will be put on the block for public auction to be won by one lucky bidder to enter the crypto history books. The NFT that transfers real ownership of the property will be auctioned over a 24h period with the initial listing starting at an affordable $20,000 mark.

Details of the sale are available at Propy and will be routinely updated to include previews of property, FAQ, an auction countdown clock and terms.

Blockchain apartments and NFT remembrances 

In 2017, this real estate property was sold entirely using blockchain technology to Michael Arrington, founder of tech news site TechCrunch and Arrington XRP Capital. The transaction took place entirely via Ethereum smart contracts and was the first-ever to be sold and transferred on the blockchain. 

Propy, who is backed by famed blockchain investor Tim Draper, has since helped thousands of American agents and homebuyers to make offers and complete over $1bn worth of transactions via an easy-to-use and secure online platform. 

“This NFT will go down in history. For Propy it is a major milestone in leveraging the promise of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFT) to achieve self-driving real estate transactions. Real estate as an asset class will become a part of the decentralized finance economy,” Natalia Karayaneva, CEO of Propy, in a statement.

As such, the NFT will include: Access to ownership transferred paperwork, the apartment picture, and a unique digital art NFT by a popular Kiev graffiti artist, Chizz (a physical painting of the digital artwork is painted on a wall of the apartment).

First, you can get a "mortgate" without ever talking to a stinking bank. And second, this allows much simpler transfers. Transfer the token, you've transferred the property.

— Michael Arrington (@arrington) May 25, 2021

The process works as follows: The seller signs proprietary-developed legal papers for NFTs to transfer ownership to a future buyer, carries out an NFT auction, and receives payment in cryptocurrency. The winner in the auction becomes the owner within a minute, after filling out KYC details (name). 

Meanwhile, Arrington noted the use of NFTs to sell an apartment was innovative. “It is very exciting to push the innovation and use cases around blockchain technology and real estate,” he stated.

Arrington ended, “This NFT proof of concept can continue to develop even larger utility inside the DeFi realm, to enable collateralized loans and p2p mortgages.”

The post TechCrunch founder’s Kiev apartment becomes first real estate NFT appeared first on CryptoSlate.