New York–based asset manager Elevated Returns completed the $18 million closing of Aspen Digital, which sold 18.9 percent of the resort hotel in digital tokens, according to media reports.
Elevated Returns will hold onto the remaining 81.1 percent of the 179-room luxury hotel.
“The Aspen Digital closing not only represents a new coin on the market that is asset-backed, it also establishes a blueprint for future real estate tokenization,” said Jason Kirschenbaum, Elevated Returns director in a prepared statement.
“The future of real estate investing is one that provides global exposure, transparency, public access and liquidity, all of which are elements that can be delivered through blockchain technology,” he added.
Buyers of the tokens, sold at $1 each through a real estate offering called Aspen Digital, had to be accredited investors willing to purchase at least 10,000 tokens.
“While there is an undeniable trend of assets migrating to the blockchain and a need for cryptocurrencies to be backed by collateral of some sort, these are truly the early days for the industry, which is why it is critical for offering sponsors like Elevated Returns to assemble the necessary components to be successful,” said Stephane De Baets, president of Elevated Returns. “This emphasis on building an effective ecosystem led us to acquire a South Asian broker-dealer with wide distribution capability, one that is able to operate in Thailand, a nation that has come forward with highly-developed crypto regulation guidelines.”
