Colorado Church Uses Blockchain to Buy Historic Building
Date: 2024-08-19 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
Colorado House of Prayer church group has launched an initiative to buy its flagship church using blockchain technology. The group has tokenized the Old Stone Church, a 11,457-square-foot historic building, to raise $2.5 million to purchase the property.
The initiative is led by Pastor Blake Bush, who believes the innovative approach was inspired by God. According to him, the idea to tokenize the building came to him during a spiritual revelation in an interview with Forbes.
Tokenization as Spiritual Inspiration
Bush said the idea to tokenize the building came to him during prayer. “I heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘Tokenize the building,’” Bush told Forbes, emphasizing that the decision was the result of years of prayer.
The pastor sees the project as a mission to reclaim the “house of God.” The Old Stone Church, known for its stone façade, has long been a gathering place for his congregation and other related church groups.
The building’s current owner, a local businessman who also owns a car dealership, purchased it in 2022 for $2.2 million. Now, Colorado House of Prayer plans to purchase it for $2.5 million.
To achieve this goal, the group has created the “Stone Coin,” a digital asset specifically designed to finance the purchase. The coin is tied to a real estate token created by REtokens and runs on the private Polymesh blockchain.
Tokenization allows the building to be divided into digital shares that can be purchased by investors. The success of this initiative depends on attracting investment and the reactive value of the tokens.
So far, the project has raised about half of its target amount and is actively seeking additional investors. The group plans to open the token sale to individuals outside the congregation, including non-parishioners.
While this decision could potentially expose the church to the risk of outsiders, including undesirable groups, being able to purchase the tokens, Bush does not see this as a problem. When asked about the possibility of Satanists purchasing the tokens, Bush confidently replied, “Let’s introduce you to Jesus.”
Tokenization Market Could Reach $16 Trillion by 2030
According to a report from the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and Boston Consulting Group, the global value of tokenized illiquid assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030.
Even Citigroup’s more conservative estimates suggest that there could be $4 trillion to $5 trillion in tokens issued by 2030.
Given this potential, major companies are actively pursuing the tokenization market. For example, Goldman Sachs plans to launch three new tokenization products later this year, driven by growing customer interest.
Some protocols are playing a significant role in this growth, especially in terms of user activity. Digital carbon market platforms like Toucan and KlimaDAO, as well as real estate tokenization protocol Propy, have seen significant growth in their user base.
It’s worth noting that both public and private blockchains are increasingly being used to incorporate various assets. Notable examples include Franklin Templeton’s expansion of the U.S. Government Money Fund from Stellar to Polygon, Backed Finance’s launch of a tokenized U.S. Treasury bond ETF, and UBS Asset Management’s implementation of a money market fund (MMF) on the Ethereum blockchain.
