Unless you live under a rock, there is no doubt that you’ve been hearing all about Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Well now there’s yet another new cryptocurrency in town, only this time it’s backed by real estate.
Called “BrickCoin”, the new currency is essentially a blockchain-based financial platform backed entirely by the stability of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Blockchain, for those who’re uninitiated, is the software platform that underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, acting as a kind of distributed ledger that validates all transactions.
Lucas Cervigni, one of the creators of Brickcoin, told Property Investor Today the main idea is to use the new currency to underpin an entire financial platform aimed at protecting individuals’ true wealth from the inflationary impact of FIAT currencies.
According to Cervigni, many individuals across the world are seeing their life savings being slowly eaten away due to forces beyond their control. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many are unable to tap into investment programs that can better protect their wealth.
“Inflation levels are rising around the globe, chewing into real incomes and savings rates, the world needs a better, safer and easier way for ordinary people to save and protect their money from inflation,” Cervigni said. “Savings accounts and fixed income interest accounts are not inflation-proof and are stuck at record low levels of interest. Complex investment products such as hedge funds are typically only available to high wealth individuals and require large initial investments and do not offer ready liquidity and are vulnerable to bankruptcy.
To combat this, Cervigni is touting BrickCoin as an “inflation-proof” mechanism for ordinary savers to protect their wealth.
“We want individuals to exchange part of their FIAT money into BrickCoins so that, when they choose to convert them back into FIAT money, they will regain the original value saved in full, plus any growth,” Cervigni said. “We want to help them to fight the inevitable devaluation of FIAT currencies and store their wealth safely for the future.”
According to a blog article on bitcoin prime, Cervigni claims this is possible because BrickCoin is differentiated from other cryptocurrencies. He points out that it’s backed by commercial, mortgage-free real estate holdings that are regulated and protected from FIAT’s inflationary cycles. He adds that BrickCoin provides a unique opportunity for those with low savings to invest in real estate for the first time.
He reckons that BrickCoin token holders will see a steady income stream that grows at a guaranteed rate that’s higher than current inflation levels.
“By comparison, debt-free real estate has and always will have intrinsic value, much as the old gold standards did. We plan to use this to create a new inflation-proof, secure but flexible mechanism for ordinary savers to protect their wealth,” Cervigni told The Real Daily.