In December 2018, the blockchain startup Fluidity was about to participate in its first tokenization deal, which would create digital access to property rights in a 12-unit Manhattan condominium complex. The deal was proof-of-concept for Fluidity, which hoped to develop a business digitizing securities issuance for other real estate assets on the basis of its technical facility with blockchain technology, and in conjunction with its broker-dealer partner, Propellr. A successful transaction would only prompt larger and more urgent strategic questions, however. Among them was the appropriate revenue model for Fluidity—whether to grow by providing its technical services to broker-dealers, by going into tokenized securities issuance, or by harnessing its trading technology to facilitate a secondary market in tokenized securities.
Keywords: Blockchain; tokenization; data security; revenue model; Finance; Technological Innovation; Strategy;
Citation:
Di Maggio, Marco, David Lane, and Susie Ma. "Fluidity: The Tokenization of Real Estate Assets." Harvard Business School Case 219-057, December 2018. (Revised March 2019.) View Details
