This interview is part of our new Blockchain In Real Estate series, where we interview the world's leading thought leaders on the front lines of the intersections between blockchain and real estate.

In this interview we speak with Antanas Krasauskas, VP of Operations of Smartlands, to understand how his company is using blockchain to transform the real estate business, and what the future of the industry holds.

1. What's the story behind Smartlands? Why and how did you begin?

AK: If I were to say that the Smartlands story is a magic one, that we've gathered together at some highland castle wearing capes, holding candles, and at midnight proclaimed the beginning of The Great Enterprise, I'd be lying. The Smartlands beginnings were reasonably humble. Back in 2017, when everyone was basically exploiting the space, we were trying to study it figuring out how we can benefit the stagnating banking system and financial markets. Everything was screaming for change – banking, investing, the very perceptions of money and value were collapsing. Back then, the ICO-driven boom had propelled cryptocurrency at the top of the food chain, and many were chasing a quick buck without realising that cryptocurrency in its pure form is just one of many derivatives of the blockchain technology. And I am happy to say for myself and the creators of Smartlands that we were (and I would hope, we still are) far-sighted enough to have seen the vast array of applications blockchain can deliver when we begin to talk about transforming financial markets and radically reshaping the global investment climate.

2. Please describe your use case and how Smartlands uses blockchain:

AK: For the technical side of things, I would refer you to the recent interview that was done with our VP of technology Ilia Obraztsov by the YouTube channel called TokenEyes. It's a 20-minute long conversation about a match made in heaven between Smartlands and the Stellar network. But the compressed version of the answer would be that our unique expertise lies in the realm of regulated digital ownership and the cross-border value exchange and Stellar brings to the table speed, transparency, and negligible costs.

Now, to the use case. Again, in a nutshell, Smartlands is a regulated platform for crowdfunding investments via the issuance of security tokens: asset owners/managers issue tokens (shares) on the Platform, investors buy those shares, we call it the concept of “fractional ownership.”

Most obvious use case right now is real estate; in fact, our inaugural project is in real estate in the UK (actually we’re the first blockchain-based crowdfunding company registered with the Financial Conduct Authority). This asset class is the most familiar to people. Traditionally, it's highly illiquid and tokenising it gives investors a host of options for secondary trading.

3. Could you share a specific customer/user that benefits from what you offer? What has your service done for them?

AK: I wouldn't want to fall into the financial promotion trap. The British regulator is pretty stringent this way, and Smartlands as an investment company, is subject to financial regulations in the UK. In the human language that means that before we start talking “specific benefits for our customers” and “what our service can do for them” I have to know who they are, it's called the “Know Your Customer” procedure. I can say that we are a global investment ecosystem that provides accredited investors with a range of meticulously selected investment opportunities in the most lucrative equity types and asset classes. Soon we plan on going completely mobile and create a banking product with a contactless payment card for both fiat and crypto. We will enable our customers to trade in and out of any asset and any type of currency they choose to use on the Platform.

4. What other blockchain use cases in real estate are you excited about?

AK: There is plenty to get excited about when we talk about using the blockchain tech in real estate. Even though the asset tokenisation space in a relatively nascent state right now, cases could be made for streamlining home purchases, registering land and home titles, securing property transactions. The rental market is a real gold mine here; just imagine the array of possibilities when your investors are not only able to invest in a rental property itself but are also collecting dividends from rent. An average-sized apartment block could have thousands of co-owners and landlords with different share sizes, voting rights, etc. To keep up with this while ensuring the speed of transaction, immutability, security, and low costs Smartlands created an extremely sophisticated proprietary technological solution of which we are very proud.

5. Where will Smartlands be in five years?

AK: We're actually on track to create the conditions for Ultimate Liquidity on Smartlands – the Holy Grail for any investor. We already possess the necessary technical expertise to turn the global multi-trillion dollar asset pool into a sandbox for all types of investors. What's lacking is the regulatory framework, but I imagine that in 5 years a private investor from China or India would be able to reliably park a couple of hundred dollars of his or her hard-earned cash somewhere in a share of a Manhattan highrise or an orchard in Argentina – all on a platform like Smartlands with a single push of a button.