Buy at the right time, in the right place
Backed by an exciting career as a real estate investor in Canada and the United States that began in 1993, Jean-Marc Jacobson joins his brother, Rémy, with whom he has worked since the 2000s. Current political situation in Quebec (campaign and referendum on Quebec’s secession from the Canadian federation). Subsequently, the duo produced several performances, focusing for example on the Wynwood district in Miami, a district of hangars and warehouses, which has now become the fashion district dedicated to street art.
In 2011, a new idea, to make gold liquid on the Internet, and the desire to create a new project together, led Jean-Marc and Rémy Jacobson to discover Bitcoin. Mistrust and doubts past, the brothers dedicate themselves to this new hobby that quickly turns them into industrial miners equipped with seven data centers, among the first in the United States. In 2013, they opened the first “Bitcoin Embassy” in the world. A true pioneer culture.
Real estate accessible to all thanks to decentralized finance (DeFi)
In order to unite their two passions of blockchain and real estate, the brothers founded RealT (RealToken Inc) at the beginning of 2019. The principle is simple, each property is divided into several Tokens (tokens) and is framed in a company. Therefore, to become a shareholder, you must purchase one or more Tokens in a minimum amount of $50. This operation is similar to that of SCPIs (real estate investment companies) in France, but in this case, the barrier to entry makes real estate investment very accessible. Thanks to its latest innovation, the “no wallet” that anyone can invest without any knowledge of blockchain. The property and its location are also perfectly identifiable and the immediate liquidity in the secondary market allows you to collect weekly income.
With RealT, Jean-Marc and Rémy Jacobson have chosen to focus on class B or C residential real estate, which they know well. For this reason, the company has focused its first investments in high-potential sectors such as Detroit, Chicago and Orlando (Disney World). Today, the company has 260 tokenized properties, or more than 1,000 units with clients in more than 135 countries, totaling around $60 million.
To create additional synergy, the RealT platform introduced its RMM protocol in April 2022, a protocol for lending and borrowing real estate tokens, inspired by Aave (AAVE). Modeled on a protocol from the Opium Network company, RealT has also built protection on rental income.
Face the challenges of tomorrow
Thanks to DeFi and open source protocols, RealT is currently developing several other projects, such as the ability to have RealTokens voted at general meetings directly on the blockchain. In the coming year, the company also wants to develop its network of niche real estate experts to be able to offer a diversified selection of properties.
According to Jean-Marc Jacobson, we are now only at the beginning of what decentralized finance has to offer. The challenges to face will be above all technological and regulatory. As proof, RealT now has 21 employees, 6 of whom are responsible for resolving legal and compliance issues. The company must, in fact, adapt to changing regulations and standards that vary according to the countries where it has a presence. By the end of 2022, RealT also wants to establish itself in Panama before launching in Europe in 2023.
This content was produced in collaboration with AGENCE DELTA. The BFM BUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
