The year 2018 was the year when PropTech companies gained popularity as an investment vehicle. These were especially popular with real estate companies, according to Bisnow. They accounted for a large chunk of significant companies with combined assets of $250 million or more believing in the profitability of investing in blockchain.
JLL and CBRE have been actively investing in PropTech companies, while Brookfield and Oxford Properties have also created ways to invest in these companies. Then, there's the fact that 53% of investors having the aforementioned assets of $250 million or more have invested in PropTech. There's something attracting them to these companies, and it's not really that much of a secret-future impact.
Most PropTech companies are involved in different blockchain-backed tech. For instance, one company is involved in building smart environments for lending marketplaces. Another might be connected to VR/augmented reality and AI research. While these aren't related to real estate, the real estate firms involve themselves anyway.
One of the biggest deals between an enterprise not involved in blockchain and a tech company so far is between Nasdaq and blockchain startup Symbiont. Forbes revealed that Nasdaq invested $20 million of its money in the company, which is researching ways to introduce blockchain-backed assets into mainstream adoption.
Blockchain can be scary to some; obviously not to Nasdaq. Like many who are seeing the many benefits of blockchain, the company is looking at how it makes dealings more efficient by removing the problems caused by distance and the lack of a witnessing party. Nasdaq sees the opportunity for its technology to make their processes faster and better.
Nasdaq has also since announced it is making Symbiont a 'commercially integrated' part of the company, along with its 26 exchanges that are run in countries like the US, Scandinavia, regions in Baltic territory and Armenia, among others.
This is only some of the many reasons why executives that 'don't really understand blockchain' are looking actively for blockchain-based platforms to invest in. Most of these executives see the real impact blockchain technologies are starting to have in real estate. About 38% of them have already done their due diligence and are studying which startups to invest in.
The presence of blockchain as a disruptor of industries is here to stay. There are still a lot of issues to be ironed out, but it is worth studying and investing in.
