Real World Asset Tokenization: Innovative Approach to Fractionalizing Commercial Real Estate Ownership, Making it Possible for Individual Investors to Own Multi-Million-Dollar Investment Opportunities such as Real Estate

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Edward Nwokedi

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

ed@redswan.io

Additional applicants

Tunde Olasunkanmi, Don Oparah, Daniel Connolly and Hezakiah Olubunmi,

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

The project will be open source on the initial security token standard studio. 

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

Other

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our proposed solution aims to create a link between Real World Assets (Real Estate) and digital assets through a Cardano Native token.

RedSwan CRE is a leading digital marketplace of tokenized real estate investment securities. The grant will be used to fund the development of industry compliant security token studio, a primary issuance platform, self-custody wallets, and a secondary trading exchange of digital assets (security tokens) of real estate built on Cardano protocol. 

The $ 75 trillion commercial real estate industry’s largest problem is liquidity. This prevents millions of investors from directly entering the market in a decentralized manner and blocks trillions of investment dollars globally from participation. 

As noted above the commercial real estate investment industry is a $75t marketplace and historically limited to major corporations and High Net Worth Investors (HNW). RedSwan CRE is a membership-based commercial real estate marketplace that tokenizes Commercial Real Estate (CRE) properties and matches CRE owners, buyers and sellers.

Through tokenization, RS provides access, affordability and liquidity to investors like never before, while making it easier and faster to acquire real estate. The relevance with Cardano is using open-source technology to allow Cardano customers to have access to the revolutionary alternative investment asset class and provide a platform for property owners to sell shares on the Cardano ecosystem.

In summary, our solution presents an innovative approach to fractionalizing commercial real estate ownership, making it possible for individual investors to access multi-million-dollar investment opportunities — which are usually reserved for super-rich investors — for as low as $1,000 USD. With recent scares in the financial and crypto industries, RedSwan provides a more stable investment option in the blockchain world.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Our proposed solution creates a new standard for connecting individual investors with fractionalized commercial real estate ownership via digital assets on the Cardano blockchain ecosystem.

 

In addition, our proposed solution has several benefits for the Cardano Ecosystem:

 

Increase use case on the Cardano Blockchain: Bridging the gap between individual investors and access to fractionalized Commercial Real Estate leverages Cardano’s capabilities for something more than crypto transactions, it gives investors the opportunity to invest in CRE easily, through Cardano blockchain

 

Increase demand for ADA: Our solution will increase the demand for ADA, as gas fees for the CRE transaction will be charged in ADA

 

Access to fractional shares of real estate:  The solution will bring in more users who value real-world assets, like CRE, who are seeking to prove ownership of Commercial Real Estate assets in the digital sphere. We conservatively estimate an addition of hundreds of CRE assets and thousands of users within the first year post-implementation.

 

Institutional Partners Assets: Cardano’s institutional partners that own quality CRE buildings will be able to tokenize their buildings easily and rapidly. 

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

The success of our project will be determined by both quantitative and qualitative metrics to give us a well-rounded understanding of the impact and reception of our solution. Here's how we plan to measure success:

Adoption Rate By CRE Owners: A key quantitative measure of success will be the number of CRE owners using our solution to tokenize their assets. This indicates the market's acceptance and trust in our service.

Token Transactions: We will measure the number of asset-bound token transactions on the Cardano blockchain. An increase in these transactions suggests that our solution is being actively used, which validates its practicality.

Feedback from CRE Owners & Users: User satisfaction is a significant qualitative metric. We'll collect feedback from CRE owners using our solution and from end consumers who interact with these tokens. This feedback will guide our continuous improvement efforts.

Community Engagement: We will assess the level of engagement and interaction from the Cardano community, as shown by comments, suggestions, and participation in our forums and social media platforms. This will provide us with invaluable insights and a measure of how well our project resonates with the community.

Scalability: The ability to successfully expand our service to a larger range of CRE owners and types of CRE assets will be another measure of success.

We believe these metrics are realistic as they cover both the direct impact (CRE owners adoption, user feedback) and the indirect benefits (community engagement, scalability) of our project.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Our plan to share the outputs and results of our project is centered around transparency and active engagement with the community, the CRE owners, and the end-users who will interact with our asset-bound tokens.

Community Engagement: We will regularly update the Cardano community through various channels like our social media platforms, and other forums. We aim to keep the community informed about our progress, the challenges we encounter, and the milestones we reach. These updates will not only provide transparency but also allow for valuable feedback from the community.

CRE Owners and Users Interaction: We plan to work closely with the CRE owners adopting our solution and their users. We'll share with them the effectiveness of our solution in fractionalizing commercial real estate in the digital sphere. We'll also keep them updated on the project's development, new features, and improvements based on their feedback.

Public Presentations and Reports: We plan to share our findings and experiences in the form of presentations at relevant conferences and through detailed reports. This will be an opportunity for us to demonstrate the value of our solution and its impact on the Cardano ecosystem.

Further Research and Development: The results generated from this project will be used as a foundation for further research and development. By analyzing the metrics we gather and the feedback we receive, we can identify areas for improvement and expansion. For example, we might find that certain types of commercial real estate assets are more compatible with our solution, or that users prefer specific features and functionalities. Such insights will guide our future development efforts and help us refine our solution.

 

By spreading the project's outputs over time and through these different channels, we aim to maximize the project's impact and opportunities. We believe our project will not only bring value to the Cardano ecosystem but will also pave the way for more innovative uses of blockchain technology in the world of digital real estate securities.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team's capability to deliver this project is backed by a combination of deep technical expertise, industry experience, and proven track record in the real estate and blockchain space.

 

Technical Expertise: Don the co-founder and Head of Technology of RedSwan has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge and extensive experience in software development and blockchain projects. This includes smart contract development, token standards, and integrating blockchain solutions with traditional systems. He is leading the development of the solution on Cardano.

 

Industry Experience: Ed our Ceo/Founder has over two decades of real estate experience. Our team has worked on projects that require us to understand and navigate commercial real estate assets both in the physical market and the digital asset space. Our team has worked with some of the top commercial real estate and alternative investment firms. Our team has experience across fintech, real estate, digital assets, and countless other industries. This has given us a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities in linking Cardano with the digital asset securities market.

 

Track Record: We have years of experience in working successfully with other blockchains such as: Ethereum, Polymath, Polygon and Hedera Hashgrapgh. This not only demonstrates our capability to execute but also gives us a deep understanding of the challenges involved and how to overcome them.

 

Project Management: Our project management processes are robust and transparent. We have a clear roadmap and can provide regular updates and reports on progress.

 

Financial Management: We are committed to managing funds with the highest level of transparency and integrity. We will provide detailed budgets and regular financial reports, and we are open to audits. Funds will be allocated strictly according to the budget, with checks and balances in place to ensure appropriate use.

 

Community Engagement: We understand the importance of community in the Cardano ecosystem, and we plan to engage actively with the community. This includes regular updates, seeking feedback, and being open to collaborations.

 

Our team’s combined skills, experience, and established processes make us well-suited to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability. We are excited about the impact our solution will have on the Cardano ecosystem, and we are committed to delivering on our promises.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Our project's main objectives can be categorized into technical goals, market adoption goals, and community engagement goals:

 

Goal 1: Complete development of industry compliant Token Studio Module. Support the creation of security tokens on the Cardano platform to represent digital ownership in commercial real estate assets. Possibly design as an open-source module. 

 

Goal 2: Complete development of Primary Issuance Module. Support the end-to-end workflow of conducting an initial issuance of security tokens to investors based on Cardano security tokens that represent ownership in real estate (or potentially other tokenized assets). The module will include KYC, Investor Accreditation, Account Management, Investment Workflow, Asset Portfolio Workflow and Admin Features.

 

 

Goal 2a: Pilot Launch and Marketing of the Primary Issuance Module. The RedSwan team will use the module to conduct a primary issuance on several commercial real estate assets as a real-world test of the new module. RedSwan will leverage its existing marketing team and capability (which has already conducted several successful campaigns for multi-million-dollar primary issuances on redswan.io) in partnership with the Cardano marketing team to promote the pilot launch.

 

Goal 3: Complete the development of the Asset Module. Support the ability for users to create and manage wallets for the storage of their digital assets (security tokens) once these are issued to them. Also support custody of digital assets (centralized custody option for users who do not wish to manage their own tokens) and management of dividend payouts.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Based on our project requirements and goals, we have broken down our project into the following milestones with associated tasks, timelines, and projected costs. Each milestone marks a significant stage of progress towards our project's objectives.

 

Milestone 1: Security Token / Studio Module

· 1a. Design  (1month)

• a technical specification document and design for an Open-Source security token standard for the Cardano Network and a Security Token Studio Module based on the security token standard
•  the specification document will include

+ the necessary user stories;

+ high-level architecture; and

+ all necessary analysis to develop the security token standard and security token module.

· 1b. Development and Launch (3months)

• Development of the Security Token Standard and Security Token Module to operate on the Cardano Network based on the specifications defined during the design phase
• Integration of the security token module with the RedSwan Marketplace to support issuance of tokenized real estate assets on the Cardano Network

 

 

Milestone 2: Primary Issuance Module

· 2a. Design (1month)

•  a technical specification document and design for a proprietary digital security token issuance module
•  the specification document will include

+ the necessary user stories;

+ high-level architecture; and

+ all necessary analysis to develop the primary issuance module.

· 2b. Development and Launch (3months)

•  Development of the Primary Issuance Module, integrated with the RedSwan Marketplace and including the following features:

+ KYC functionality integration

+ accreditation of RedSwan Marketplace users, including the ability to upload and review documentation;

+ the ability for RedSwan Marketplace users to register and view/edit profiles and have password management support;

+ support the ability for RedSwan Marketplace users to search for properties tokenized via the security token module and have the ability to invest in them using Digital Assets on the Cardano Network;

+ integration with a payment processing system;

+ an investor dashboard that provides a RedSwan Marketplace user with a capitalization table and share registry management capabilities;

+ a property management workflow, including the ability to issue tokenized assets on the Cardano Network that represent ownership in real estate, as well as the ability to accept terms and conditions associated with a property as previously configured in the Security Token Module; and

+ a set of administrator features that include

• an administrator being able to login and manage various roles within the RedSwan Marketplace,
• an administrator being able to verify accounts and having the ability to revoke RedSwan Marketplace access for certain accounts, and
• email management and reporting capabilities.

 

 

Milestone 3: Custody/Wallet Module

· 3a. Design (1month)

•  a technical specification document and design for a custody/wallet module
•  the specification document will include

+ the necessary user stories;

+ high-level architecture; and

+ all necessary analysis to develop the custody/wallet module.

· 3b. Development and Launch (3months)

•  Development of a Custody/Wallet Module that will allow RedSwan users to implement self-custody or third-party custody of their Cardano Digital Assets. Implementation will include working with a suitably qualified third-party custodian as appropriate to integrate the Custody/Wallet Module with the RedSwan Marketplace and the Primary Issuance Module. Based on the specifics defined during the design phase, the Custody/Wallet Module will include the following features:

i. the ability for users to create and manage digital wallets for the storage of their Digital Assets on the Cardano Network, including the digital security tokens issued by the Platform;

ii. support for digital wallet key management, backup digital wallets, and offline security for both RedSwan-branded non-custodial digital wallets and third-party digital wallets that support the Security Token Standard;

iii. the Custody Module will support custody of Digital Assets, including a centralized custody option provided by a licensed third-party custodian, for Platform users who do not wish to manage their own Digital Assets, and management of dividend payouts.

We are committed to delivering the project on time and within. 

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Detailed Planning and System Design

· Deliverables: Detailed project plan, system architecture design, and a blueprint of the Cardano token standard.

· Outputs: Documentations outlining our plan, design, and specifications.

· Intended Outcomes: A robust plan to guide the development and successful approval from board members.

· Progress Measurement: We will measure progress by the completion of planning documents and development approval.

 

Development of Token Standard and Smart Contracts

· Deliverables: Developed token standard and smart contracts.

· Outputs: Codebase and test results.

· Intended Outcomes: Functioning token standard and smart contracts that meet the defined specifications.

· Progress Measurement: We will track progress based on the successful completion and testing of the developed token standard and smart contracts.

 

Integration with Existing Systems

· Deliverables: API and other required elements for integration, integrated system.

· Outputs: Integration code, test results, documentation of integration steps and processes.

· Intended Outcomes: Smooth integration of our solution with digital assets (security tokens) for real estate tokenization.

· Progress Measurement: Successful integration and functioning of the system as per defined requirements.

 

Alpha Launch and Testing

· Deliverables: Launched Alpha version, collected feedback.

· Outputs: Launch report, feedback reports, digital assets (security tokens) for real estate test run.

· Intended Outcomes: Successful Alpha launch, feedback from CRE Asset Owners and users/investors for improvements.

· Progress Measurement: Successful launch and feedback collection.

 

Full Launch and Marketing

· Deliverables: Launched product, conducted marketing activities.

· Outputs: Marketing materials, launch report, user acquisition data.

· Intended Outcomes: Successful full-scale launch, increased CRE Asset Owner and user/investor adoption.

· Progress Measurement: Successful launch, CRE Asset Owner adoption rates, and user/investor acquisition numbers.

 

Post-Launch Support and Development

· Deliverables: Provided support, developed new features and improvements.

· Outputs: Support tickets, new feature logs, updates, and reports.

· Intended Outcomes: High user satisfaction, and continuous improvements to the system.

· Progress Measurement: Feedback from CRE Asset Owner and users/investors, development and deployment of new features.

· The outputs and deliverable at each milestone will serve as evidence of progress, while the outcomes will help us assess if we're achieving our broader project goals. 

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

1. 
   

a. Design 300,000 ada

b. Development & Launch 833,333 ada

 

2. Primary Issuance Module

a. Design 300,000 ada

b. Development & Launch 1,500,000 ada

 

3. Custody / Wallet Module

a. Design 233,333 ada

b. Development & Launch 833,333 ada

 

Grand Total 4,000,000 ada

 

Our team is committed to managing the funds responsibly and transparently, and we'll provide regular financial updates to the community.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The cost of our project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem in several ways:

 

Economic Impact: By attracting CRE Asset Owners to the Cardano blockchain, our solution could potentially increase the volume of transactions and, consequently, the demand for ADA. Additionally, we're introducing a new use case for Cardano's smart contracts which could stimulate more innovation and development within the ecosystem.

 

Strategic Impact: Bridging the gap between individual investors and access to fractionalized commercial real estate leverages Cardano’s native token capabilities for something more than just digital transactions, it gives investors the opportunity to invest in CRE, something they wouldn’t be able to do without Cardano’s blockchain. By bridging this gap we are positioning Cardano as a trailblazer in the blockchain space. This could increase Cardano's visibility and reputation, leading to further adoption across other industries.

 

Community Impact: We plan to engage actively with the Cardano community. Our project not only provides a new and exciting use case to discuss and explore, but it also encourages feedback and collaboration. This contributes to the vibrancy and dynamism of the Cardano community.

 

Position Cardano as a leader with Enterprise Solutions: Since Cardano is aiming to be the enterprise & government solution worldwide, this can pave the path in one industry to do so. Given that Cardano tokens are native assets, there is more security as a solution for physical bound tokens. Moreover, we create solutions that don’t feel like a complicated interaction with the blockchain, but a seamless interaction that is built on the Cardano blockchain.

 

The project's costs will be estimated based on average rates in the blockchain development industry. Our team comprises seasoned professionals, and the budget will reflect their expertise and the quality of work they produce. Don has successfully delivered similar projects in the past, which will serve as a benchmark for our cost estimates.

 

Overall, the cost of our project is justified by the potential economic, strategic, and community benefits it brings to the Cardano ecosystem. The project not only promises immediate benefits but also opens the door for further innovation and development, thereby providing long-term value for money.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept