For those of you that haven’t heard of REAL yet, here is a small introduction. REAL is tokenizing the Real Estate industry with the aim of providing more liquidity to home owners and a lower barrier of entry for investors to get involved in the housing market. In the contrary to many other cryptocurrencies, or even the US dollar, the REAL token is backed by real estate and therefore has an actual value associated with it.
Enrique Dubois, CEO at REAL, is a digital technology thought leader in Spain. Directly after getting started with his adult life, Enrique built an online bingo site with an initial investment of 3000 euros from his grandmother. At the age of 24, he sold it for 8 mln euros. Enrique also co-founded Mola.com, the largest internet startup accelerator in Spain. The company receives more than 2000 submissions every year from entrepreneurs seeking their backing and support.
In order to provide a better insight into REAL, Enrique agreed to answer 8 small questions about the project. This being said, let’s jump straight to the interview.
Ok Enrique, first question – When did you first get into Ethereum and what were your initial thoughts?
I got into Ethereum in January and became very excited as I thought the smart contracts could be the killer app the blockchain world had been waiting beside Bitcoin. I now believe that thanks to this innovation, Blockchain will change the technology world.
Can anyone add a property to REAL? Or is there a barrier of entry?
REAL Platform needs to analyze it and approve its yield suitability, run a third party valuation and legal audit. Once that is done, it will be added to our Platform.
What advantage does REAL offer against real estate crowdfunding sites like RealCrowd?
The fact that we are using Blockchain technology sets us apart. Everything is publicly audited, we avoid offline middlemen, we enable global access, and we provide liquidity to real estate investments as it is very easy to sell REAL tokens in exchange for major cryptocurrencies like Ether or Bitcoin.
How would investors be affected in the unlikely event that a property is destroyed by a natural disaster?
We would not invest in a risky place. We make sure that if anything happens to the property, the Insurance companies would cover the losses.
How does the REAL token appreciate in value? Does it have to be invested in a property in order to provide a return?
As the platform is successful and users start getting profits, there will be a demand of REAL Tokens. Because there is a limited supply and the token is required for investing in the platform, we expect an increasing demand to push up the price. We are also convinced that since the REAL token is connected to an actual real estate portfolio, it will serve as a “stable coin” in the near future.
REAL tokens make Real Estate more liquid. In what ways do you think this can impact the industry?
It will attract more capital and give the opportunity to more people to gain from the Real Estate profit potential.
Where do you see REAL in 5 years from now?
We will be managing hundreds if not thousands of properties worldwide and distribute the profits to thousands of users worldwide. REAL Token will have become a secure Token and will also be used as a refuge crypto coin.
And finally, where can people learn more about REAL and the ICO?
Real.markets has a whitepaper, additional information about the token sale and links to our social profiles. Stay tuned! Our crowdsale starts on August 31st.
