Propy preps to sell real apartment as NFT

Future. Blockchain startup Propy is selling a real, brand new, one bedroom-bedroom apartment in Kiev, Ukraine… as a NFT. The sale would be the first time that a physical property transfers ownership through the blockchain-backed tech, and it could revolutionize the speed, privacy, and cost in how properties change hands… while also leaving banks, brokers, and agents locked out.

Real digital auction
You can now buy a real apartment as a digital NFT (non-fungible token).

• The NFT includes access to the ownership transfer papers of the apartment, a digital artwork by Kiev-based graffiti artist Chizz (the physical painting is hanging in the apartment), and pictures of the apartment.
• The 24-hour auction will start with bidding at $20K.
• The winner of the auction will receive ownership of the apartment within a minute of signing the ownership transfer papers.

The apartment isn’t actually owned by Propy, but by TechCrunch and Arrington XRP Capital founder Michael Arrington (Propy is acting as the middleman).

Smarten up
Propy came onto the scene as the creator of “smart contracts” — which allowed for real-estate transactions to be done on blockchain technology. Graduating to NFTs, according to Propy CEO Natalia Karayaneva “is a major milestone in leveraging the promise of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFT) to achieve ‘self-driving’ real estate transactions and real estate participation in the decentralized finance economy.”

Specifically, the NFT approach is different from a traditional smart contract because it allows for property to be “transferred between two wallets, peer to peer,” meaning that transactions can stay private if desired.