2024-04-12

Tokenization of real-world assets is a rapidly emerging product category

  • Generation Z and millennials choose crypto over stocks — Report, April 12, 2024
  • El Salvador’s newest Hilton hotel to tap into tokenized debt on Bitcoin, April 12, 2024
  • Circle enables USDC transfers for BlackRock’s first tokenized fund, April 11, 2024


El Salvador’s newest Hilton hotel to tap into tokenized debt on Bitcoin

1️⃣ A first for El Salvador, a first for Bitfinex Securities, the start of a huge new industry in real world asset tokenisation.

2️⃣ a new era of capital markets on Bitcoin, which will offer the local population a new way to access financial markets.

3️⃣ a testament to the transformative power of Bitcoin-based capital markets

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Investors will soon be able to own a slice of a new 4,500-square-foot Hampton by Hilton hotel in El Salvador by buying tokenized shares issued on the Bitcoin layer 2 Liquid Network.

The country’s first-ever tokenized asset raise will be facilitated by Bitfinex Securities, the first licensed and registered digital asset provider in El Salvador, while the debt issued from Inversiones Laguardia S.A. de C.V.

The hotel will be constructed at El Salvador’s international airport, with Inversiones Laguardia looking to raise $6.25 million from crowdfunders in exchange for a 10% coupon over a five-year term.

“For the first time, investors who do not usually have the opportunity to invest in such assets have the opportunity to do so, while issuers in markets which have less access to capital, are able to tap into a new asset class to raise finance.”

Investors will need to make a minimum $1,000 investment to purchase the token under the ticker HILSV on the Liquid Network. Liquid was built by Blockstream in 2018, a Bitcoin-focused infrastructure firm led by long-time cypherpunk Adam Back.

El Salvador, widely known for its Bitcoin investment and adoption strategy, decided to expand into the real-world asset tokenization space in April 2023 when it granted Bitfinex a digital asset service provider license.

Bitfinex’s expansion marks a new era of capital markets on Bitcoin in El Salvador, which will offer the local population a new way to access financial markets.

“This capital raise not only marks our first venture in El Salvador but also stands as a testament to the transformative power of Bitcoin-based capital markets,”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-new-hilton-hotel-tap-into-tokenized-debt-bitcoin


Generation Z and millennials choose crypto over stocks — Report

... a shift in financial assets and investment strategies from those preferred by older generations. 

All these surveys paint a picture of how younger generations are diversifying their investment portfolios beyond real estate and traditional stocks, leaning heavily into the realm of cryptocurrencies.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/generation-z-and-millennials-choose-crypto-over-stocks-report


Circle enables USDC transfers for BlackRock’s first tokenized fund

Launched by BlackRock in March 2024, BUIDL is a tokenized fund that operates on the Ethereum blockchain to offer U.S. dollar yields through tokenization.

BUIDL allows investors to purchase tokens representing shares in the fund, which invests in assets like U.S. Treasury bills. The fund is referred to as the “digital liquidity fund” because it is digitized in the form of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and operates as an ERC-20 token called BUIDL.

The new investment tool is the first tokenized fund introduced by BlackRock, which is also the operator of the fastest-growing spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

... tokenization of real-world assets is a rapidly emerging product category.

BlackRock is one of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency industry, operating the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot Bitcoin ETF, which holds 266,580 BTC, worth $18.5 billion as of April 10. 

In 2022, Circle started investing in the Circle Reserve Fund to manage a portion of the USDC reserves in cooperation with BlackRock. The firm expected its composition to continue to be around 20% cash and 80% short duration U.S. Treasuries.

The Circle Reserve Fund is a registered Rule 2a-7 government money market fund managed by BlackRock Advisors, and its portfolio consists of cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-blackrock-transfers-usdc-buidl