The startup focussed on digital assets, Fundament Group, has been granted the green light by Germany's primary financial regulator BaFin to roll out a €250 million real estate bond offer that's been tokenized. Ethereum .
With the regulator’s approval In an announcement made on July 23rd, Fundament now moves forward with its strategy to launch public sales of its Real Estate Tokens.
These tokens are described as 'a digital security supported by German commercial real estate,' aiming to convert traditionally non-liquid real estate assets into fluid investments using the ERC-20 token standard.
A Trailblazer, Yet Definitely Not the End
According to the project's detailed plan, each Fundament Token will be issued with a face value of €1.
Investors have the option to buy in using euros, dollars, ether, or bitcoin. For those choosing non-crypto payments, tokens will be sent via a hardware wallet.
Token dividends are scheduled for annual distribution each July 31st, aiming for returns between four to eight percent, with final bond repayments wrapping up by December 31st, 2033.
The company now gears up for the public sale event. While the exact start date remains unspecified, registration is open on the Fundament website and promotional activities are set to begin in August.
Florian Glatz, co-founder of Fundament, expressed the company's eagerness to commence sales for their Real Estate Security Token, while also eyeing the tokenization of other attractive assets.
Remarkably, BaFin's sanction of these Ethereum-rooted bonds is a first for Germany, as it’s the debut approval of a real estate token. A BaFin spokesperson mentioned to CoinDesk:
‘This was indeed the initial approval for a prospectus relating to blockchain-based real estate, although not entirely new for blockchain technology itself.’
March of the Ethereum Bonds
The news from Fundament mirrors Societe Generale's announcement in April, where the bank shared its venture into tokenized offerings. €100 million in bonds tokenized atop Ethereum.
Societe Generale, widely referred to as SocGen, ranks among the top 20 largest banks globally, standing as France's third and Europe's sixth biggest.
As a prominent financial institution, its planned security token deal stirred interest within Ethereum's segment of the crypto realm, viewed as a marker of Ethereum's growing role in mainstream finance.
Labeled as OHF tokens, these bonds earned a Aaa rating from Mood’s. SocGen emphasized that digital bonds signal a transformative era for capital markets:
‘Significant value additions are anticipated including product scalability, market entry speed, automation through computer code, enhanced transparency, as well as more efficient transferability and settlement. It sets a new benchmark for bond issuances and secondary market trading, reducing costs by eliminating middlemen.’
This high-caliber adoption is a positive sign for a blockchain network that recently celebrated five years since its crowdsale.
Ethereum Just Had Its Birthday
‘It’s amazing to think how far we’ve progressed,’ Ethereum co-creator Joseph Lubin tweeted. ‘What started as just an idea has blossomed into a thriving community, spreading decentralization’s philosophy globally.’
Happy Birthday, ◊! 5 years ago, on July 22, 2014, the #Ethereum dream began.
It’s amazing to think how far we’ve progressed. What started as just an idea has blossomed into a thriving community, spreading decentralization’s philosophy globally. https://t.co/bcanu2NotJ
— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) July 22, 2019
With maturity comes insight. As recently logged, Ethereum has facilitated over 500 million transactions since its inception.
Thus, this smart contract platform has affirmed its credibility, prompting major players like SocGen to utilize its infrastructure. Observers are keen to see how blockchain adoption might look in another half-decade.
