Wealthion talks with the founder of Propy: Buying a house with Bitcoin, the future of real estate has arrived

Written by: Yuliya, PANews

In a recent podcast interview with Wealthion host Anthony Scaramucci, Propy founder and CEO Natalia Karayaneva shared her bold vision for the future of the real estate industry. As a professional with 15 years of real estate development experience and a software engineer, Natalia has a deep insight into the pain points in traditional real estate transactions. "In the next decade, you may be able to buy real estate online around the world with just a few clicks. The whole process is fast, low-cost and no fraud." Although this vision sounds futuristic, in Natalia's view, such changes have begun to emerge under the dual driving force of technological progress and market demand.

Cross-border innovation between engineers and real estate experts

For a long time, the real estate market has been subject to high transaction costs, lengthy transfer procedures and endless fraud risks. The traditional home purchase process often involves cumbersome contract signing, bank loan approval, property registration and other links, and the entire transaction cycle may last for several months. At the same time, issues such as property rights fraud, identity theft and capital transfer fraud have caused huge losses to home buyers, making this market full of uncertainty. These risks have also expanded globally as cross-border real estate transactions increase. In the process of digital transformation, the collision between traditional paper document management methods and new technologies has intensified the risks of identity theft and capital transfer, making the market more uncertain.

Propy was born to deal with these industry difficulties. As a dual expert who deeply understands the ecology of real estate development and the underlying logic of blockchain, Natalia led a team of 40 people to develop breakthrough solutions. The Propy team has built a decentralized property management system based on smart contracts, and achieved multiple innovations through blockchain technology:

• Automation: The system can automatically execute transaction terms, verify the ownership of property rights and capital flow in real time, greatly shortening the transaction cycle.
• Security and transparency mechanism: Blockchain's distributed ledger technology ensures that all transaction links are open and transparent, and prevents information tampering and fraud.
• Real-time tracking throughout the process: Each transaction step will be recorded on the blockchain, and relevant parties can view the transaction progress at any time, effectively reducing the risk of human error.

At present, the Propy platform has processed a total transaction volume of more than US$4 billion. Through its original real estate tokenization solution, the platform has successfully turned complex cross-border real estate investments as simple as sending an email. From Bitcoin mortgages to real estate tokenization, Propy is reshaping the way the real estate market works and opening a new era for global buyers.

Create two types of buyer home purchase models, and use blockchain and

traditional processes to achieve dual-pronged approach

So, how does Propy make buying a house easier? They provide two ways to buy a house for different user needs.

The first one is for users who are already familiar with cryptocurrencies , and the whole process is very simple. As Natalia said: "For users who are used to using cryptocurrencies, they can buy a house by just connecting their digital wallet and clicking a few mouse points , provided that the house has been converted into a digital asset by us." This method shortens the buying process that originally took several months to several minutes.

For example, in January this year, Propy launched a new loan product to support mortgage crypto assets to purchase Hawaiian apartments . The starting price of this apartment is US$250,000, because the entire transaction is carried out on the blockchain, and buyers no longer have to go through the traditional 30-day transaction process and can close the transaction almost immediately. The good news is that by February 2, the house was sold—the buyer completed the purchase by obtaining a loan by collateral for Bitcoin. Natalia details the innovation: "In this transaction we completed last month, a buyer holding Bitcoin would not need to sell the Bitcoin in his hand to bid for the property. We think Bitcoin is a good collateral and you can use it to invest in other assets. In this transaction, if you have $250,000 in Bitcoin, after the auction is successful, you will immediately get a Bitcoin-based loan without any review and waiting for 30-day loan approval from a traditional bank. With this loan, you can become a homeowner immediately."

Of course, not everyone is willing to completely abandon the traditional way of buying a house. The second method is to combine traditional real estate transaction processes and innovative technologies, which are suitable for users who still prefer traditional home buying methods. "In fact, our most popular method is the more traditional method. We have special property and custody companies, you need to sign a contract for a purchase, and then our AI system will process the contract immediately and start the transaction process. Even in the evening or weekend, the transaction can be started immediately." This method retains some of the key steps of traditional home buying, but greatly improves efficiency through technical means.

Realize real estate tokenization and introduce crypto mortgage loan

mechanism

There are many benefits to buying digital real estate on the Propy platform. The most obvious thing is that the transaction speed is fast and the cash is easy.

Natalia stressed: "The advantage of tokenized assets is that you can buy it immediately and get ownership of the property in just a few minutes. It is more liquid, so you can also sell it in an hour or a day, just start an auction in the Propy RWA market." This high liquidity revolutionizes the characteristics of real estate as an investment category, bringing it closer to the trading experience of other financial assets. In the future, RWA trading platforms such as Coinbase and Opensea may support real estate transactions. At present, these platforms have not yet required KYC and AML certification, but with the adjustment of regulations, real estate tokenization is expected to become mainstream.

Meanwhile, Propy is also exploring the possibility of partial ownership of the property. Natalia explained that by further splitting NFTs, multiple buyers can jointly own a property and divide equity by share. However, since such transactions fall into the scope of securities, filings must be filed with the US SEC.

Natalia noted that the process is relatively complex and takes about four months to complete, and the transparency requirements for submitting SEC filings make it more like a small IPO and costly. Therefore, for small properties, it is difficult to implement, but from a technical point of view, it is still feasible. She believes that although the threshold is high at present, partial ownership of real estate will be one of the future development directions of real estate tokenization.

Of course, Propy is also constantly optimizing platform functions to improve user experience and meet the rapid changes in market demand. In the future, users will be able to independently manage real estate NFTs through the Propy platform or wallet, thereby enhancing control over assets and further reducing transaction thresholds.

In terms of property rights management, Propy ensures compliance with local laws and regulations and has established a property rights transfer verification mechanism. Users can choose to sell through traditional methods to maintain compatibility with traditional markets and meet the needs of conservative investors; they can also choose to transfer tokenized ownership on the blockchain to achieve fast and low-cost transactions and obtain global liquidity opportunities.

In addition, Propy has launched an innovative cryptocurrency mortgage loan model, providing investors who are reluctant to sell crypto assets with a new option to accept Bitcoin, XRP or Ethereum as collateral. According to Natalia, “One of our recent transactions uses Bitcoin as collateral is a two-year loan with an interest rate of 10% and monthly repayment. It operates similarly to a mortgage, but the main advantage is that it does not require a lengthy 30-day mortgage approval process, which is especially suitable for investors who mainly hold crypto assets, because traditional financial institutions often do not recognize the collateral value of crypto assets.

In terms of repayment, the platform supports repayment of multiple cryptocurrencies and provides flexible repayment periods. Users can choose to repay in advance without being fined, and at the same time dynamically adjust interest rates according to market conditions. In order to control risks, the platform has implemented complete risk management measures, including real-time monitoring of Bitcoin price fluctuations, establishing a margin mechanism, providing automatic clearing of smart contracts, and setting up a professional risk assessment team.

It is worth mentioning that Natalia also proposed the future vision of Bitcoin as collateral for real estate investment. "I believe in the future that Bitcoin will become a high-quality collateral that allows users to enter other asset classes. Imagine that you can automatically obtain on-chain loans through Bitcoin holdings without credit review and without going through a traditional mortgage approval process that lasts up to 30 days."

This decentralized finance (DeFi) + real estate model will make real estate transactions more efficient, liquid, and provide investors with unprecedented freedom. With the continuous innovation of Propy, the real estate market is moving towards a new era of more intelligent and decentralized.

In addition, Propy has deployed a multi-level security mechanism to prevent fraud. " If fraud occurs, our AI or other means may find that we will report these fraudsters to the FBI and all relevant service agencies in accordance with the current rules of the property rights industry, and re-record the contract." This multi-level security mechanism greatly reduces the risk of fraud in real estate transactions and provides users with a more secure trading environment.

Supervision and institutionalization process accelerates transformation

Looking ahead, Propy is confident in the digital transformation of the real estate industry and always actively collaborates with regulators and financial institutions to ensure compliance and scalability of its solutions.

At the regulatory level, Propy actively cooperates with government agencies' policy adjustments to promote the legalization process of real estate tokenization. "Now the SEC and other institutions are looking at part ownership of real estate on the blockchain and how to allow more citizens to invest, because it is obviously a kind of securities. I always recommend that all real estate operators and owners entering the tokenization field follow the SEC rules and register under Reg D, Reg A, etc."

At the same time, the regulatory environment is moving in a more positive direction. "After many conversations with lawmakers, I also see that they are willing to actually relax the securities laws on certain assets, especially those backed by assets such as real estate," Natalia pointed out. This shift in regulatory attitude will pave the way for further development of blockchain real estate, allowing more people to enjoy the convenience brought by this innovative technology.

As blockchain real estate is gradually entering the mainstream vision, institutional adoption has also shown positive signals. "About a week ago, Robinhood 's Vlad tweeted about Robinhood's going to be a platform for buying real estate. I think they're referring to securities, they're referring to partial ownership of real estate," Natalia noted. This shows that mainstream financial institutions are recognizing the potential of blockchain real estate and starting to lay out, which is a strong boost to the development of the industry as a whole.

Conclusion

Although home buyers still need to go through the traditional housing selection process, such as visiting communities, visiting houses, evaluating investment returns, Propy's innovation lies in greatly simplifying the transaction process after buying a house. After making a purchase decision, the transfer of ownership will become simple and transparent, and home buyers can instantly understand the property status and potential risks of the property. More importantly, the entire transaction process can be completed in just a few minutes. If you need to change a house in the future, the real estate can be cashed out quickly, truly realizing high liquidity of real estate assets.

Looking to the future, Natalia is optimistic about the cryptocurrency market and real-world assets (RWA). She expects annual sales of U.S. homes are expected to grow from 5 million units to 20 million units. This growth is due to the innovation of transaction methods - buying a house in the future will be as convenient as using online car-hailing or short-term rental platforms now. The impact of this innovative model goes far beyond developed countries. This will be an opportunity to change one's destiny for many developing countries that are difficult to attract investment due to the lack of a perfect property system. The digital transformation of real estate transactions in the United States is expected to become an important cornerstone for promoting global capital market reform and open the door to investment and financing for more countries.

Propy is leading a real estate revolution through blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, committed to creating a more efficient, transparent and inclusive global real estate market. With the continuous development of technology and the continuous increase in adoption rate, the future of buying a house with Bitcoin has quietly arrived. This change can not only solve many pain points in the current real estate market, but also hope to return to the essence of meeting housing needs.