by Michael Reuter | 9 March 2020 | Blockchain
This week, our partner company RAAY Real Estate GmbH, launches Connex Coin, its first security token.Connex Coin is Germany‘s first security token that qualifies as a productive investment and is fully compliant with EU regulations.
At EXPO REAL 2019, Europe’s largest real estate fair, RAAY RE presented first details of this project. In February, the token received final approval by German financial regulatory body BaFin. The very first phase of the STO, the sale of Connex Coin, to friends and family, has already begun.
The idea of Connex Coin was born in 2018. Then, we discussed digitisation projects in the field of real estate funds with Thomas Meyer, founder and CEO of Wertgrund Immobilien AG, a residential real estate fund manager. Shortly afterwards, we started a similar conversation with Hans Hammer, founder and CEO of Hammer AG, a commercial real estate developer. It became clear within weeks: we should have these conversations together, as a team.
Fast forward: In July 2019, we founded our new partner company RAAY Real Estate (RAAY RE) as a joint venture of Hammer, Wertgrund and Datarella. The purpose of RAAY RE is to offer blockchain-based products and solutions to the real estate industry, which itself is a late adopter regarding digitisation efforts. We decided to start RAAY RE with the tokenisation of a Hammer-owned property, located in central Munich. With the Connex building, we have a first class property in one of the best real estate locations in Europe, with first class tenants — in short: the best product you can imagine for the start of a product category in your company!
By tokenising this property, we provide the perfect investment opportunity — especially for retail investors — since individuals can become real estate investors starting at 10 EUR. The Connex Coin token sale will take place from March to May 2020. Connex Coin owners will receive an interest of 3% on their investments and can sell Connex Coin back to the issuer. In the first phase, there will be no public trading of Connex Coin, since at the moment there are no EU-compliant cryptocurrency exchanges that offer trading security tokens. As soon as there is approval from financial regulators, Connex Coin will be one of the first security tokens listed on exchanges in Europe.
Connex Coin is the first token issued by RAAY RE, others will follow. RAAY RE is planning to launch more token sales for self-owned real estate properties in 2020. Additionally, tokenisation will be offered as a service to players on the real estate industry. This offering comprises the complete tokenisation process, including technical, legal and regulatory elements, based on an existing long-term real estate expertise.
In addition to tokenisation services RAAY RE offers a variety of tools and products that can be used by real estate developers, owners and funds, ranging from KYC onboarding processes, to smart digital (crypto) wallets. With the launch of Connex Coin, RAAY RE proves that blockchain technology can be leveraged to make payment and transaction processes within real estate more efficient, thus paving the way to a digitised future for the real estate industry.
The acquisition of this investment involves considerable risks and can lead to the complete loss of the invested assets.
Risk Disclosure § 12 VermAnlG
by Martin Schäffner | 20 September 2019 | Blockchain
On 18 September 2019, the German government issued a 24-page strategy paper called “Blockchain-Strategie der Bundesregierung”, an official statement outlining the initiatives Germany together with other EU states plan to support Blockchain-technology. This paper was published shortly after the EU published its “Blockchain Now and Tomorrow” paper, which summarizes the EU initiatives regarding Blockchain application. It is worth mentioning, that the paper by Germany is much more extensive and specific when comparing both statements.
Blockchain is one of the most discussed technological topics within the German Cabinet. This is due to the fact that this technology will impact many different areas including economy, society, international trade and environment. The Cabinet states that Blockchain is “one of the technologies which is anticipated to have a profound impact over the next 10-15 years.”, mainly due to an increase of Blockchain activities within startups but also established companies. Therefore, the Germany government reached out to 168 prestigious experts with different backgrounds to elaborate the potential of Blockchain. The outcome of this initiative was the base for this strategy paper. The very good news is that in general the German government fully supports Blockchain technology. However, there are some limitations. The paper outlines that the Cabinet will not support private stablecoins as an alternative to sovereign currency. This implies that initiatives like Facebook’s Libra will be clearly blocked.
So, what are the key initiatives according to this paper?
Ensuring stability and stimulating innovation with Blockchain in the financial sector
The German Government plans to open German law for electronic securities as early as this year. In its first iteration, only digital bonds will be covered. If this turns well, electronic shares and investment funds on the Blockchain will be considered as a next step. The paper outlines “The regulation of electronic securities should be technology-neutral, so that future electronic value papers can also be issued on a Blockchain.”. That’s great, in particular for our new company RAAY Real Estate, which supports the issuance of digital tokens for the real estate industry.
Establishing a token exchange
The Cabinet will work on laws on the regulation for exchange for non-traditional securities, i.e. security tokens and cryptocurrencies. A new “BaFin” permit for exchanges will allow the trading of crypto-assets on German exchanges.
Enhancing and supporting Blockchain innovations
The German Government will promote and financially support Blockchain projects. As an example they plan to pilot a Blockchain-based energy system connected to a public database. Also, they mention that they will promote the testing of Blockchain-based verification of higher education certificates.
Applying Blockchain in digital ID
Germany will seriously explore the use of Blockchain for digital identity. Timing is unclear, but the Cabinet announced that they plan to explore the benefits of Blockchain in use cases like maintaining the records of civil status, document registration, passports and ID cards.
Blocking private stablecoins
The strategy paper clearly states that the German Government will not support the establishment of any private stablecoin to get dominance in the country, as well as in the EU.
Overall, the Blockchain strategy paper published by the German government clearly proves that Germany is very serious about becoming the leading state for Blockchain technology. Surprisingly, the paper is very extensive and covers a broad range starting from finance to industrial applications. According to CoinDesk, the German parliament member Thomas Heilmann stated: “The home of the emerging token economy will be in Germany, just as Silicon Valley became a hotspot for previous innovations.”
This is great to hear – let Germany become the Silicon Valley for Blockchain in Europe!
