Smartlands – the first company to tokenise property in the UK, and one we’ve covered a number times on PIT in recent years – has changed its name to Definder to reflect its big ambition of becoming the largest tokenisation platform globally.
The company aims to expand beyond real estate and agriculture and tokenise some $1 trillion worth of assets. The announcement that the platform is changing its name to Definder at the holding company level aims to better reflect the company’s move into ever more different spheres of business and new geographical areas.
The firm says it has established leadership in the real estate tokenisation market, becoming the first to tokenize a UK property on the Stellar network. It is now looking to capitalise on the growing demand in the projected $17 trillion alternative assets market and expand its offering to other business directions, such as physical goods including art and gold, SME company shares and other profitable assets.
“After successfully pioneering real estate tokenization in the UK, we have seen huge demand for a more diverse set of offerings, along with overwhelming support from our customers actively signing up to be the first to get access to the new opportunities,” Ilia Obraztcov, CEO, said of Smartlands rebrand.
“The company, as well as its ambition, has outgrown its initial niche and will be adding more areas of interest to the portfolio as we are working towards our goal to tokenize a trillion dollars worth of assets.”
Smartlands by Definder will continue with its existing business plan of tokenising real estate and agriculture as a new platform that will democratise access to real estate investing for individuals, offering a range of investment opportunities across Europe.
Built on the Stellar network, it employs advanced blockchain technology with fast and secure transactions and smaller transaction fees. With over 1,500 investors on its waiting list, 20,000 followers and an ‘overwhelming pipeline of sound and profitable’ real estate projects, the platform is set for release in early 2022. Definder as a holding company will unite all the products and business directions of the company.
“The rebranding and the launch of a renewed company website allows us to gain a stronger position among DeFi companies. It is important to retain our established values and heritage, but at the same time, the new brand will reflect the growth and offering of the company,” Nataliia Britten, company CMO, said.
“Definder stands for the new way in investing and crowdfunding, it will defend the rights of the asset owners and all types of investors for transparent and easy capital management and will help to find the best investment option for anyone.”
Tokenising property remains highly niche in the UK, despite the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. And the main financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has also warned about the possible risks of crypocurrency investment.
Meanwhile, some have warned of the need to be wary of cryptocurrency investment fraud, with findings earlier this year from law firm Pinsent Masons that investors being hoodwinked into fake investments for digital currencies such as bitcoin had doubled in the previous 12 months. The Bank of England also warned yesterday that Bitcoin could become worthless, with people investing in it potentially losing everything, in the latest stark attack by a major organisation against the dangers of cryptocurrency.
Despite this, and the warnings about the risks involved, an increasing number of investors – especially young investors – are joining the crypto craze, drawn by the possibility of high rewards in spite of its famously volatile character.
In a previous article with PIT, Smartlands also claimed that investors investing through its platform were not investing in cryptocurrencies, or investing in a platform or software. Instead, they were investing in underlying assets and real economy assets, with security tokens simply an instrument of crowdfunding the investment.