Propy — ICO review

CryptoRated
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

Propy is a proposed implementation of a comprehensive platform for remote online real estate transactions using Smart Contracts, aiming to reduce the reliance on intermediaries (such as brokerage, escrow, land registry, and money transfer services) while improving liquidity and security (by reducing the risk of fraud due to confusing or malicious legal agreements). Propy works with current legislation to facilitate transactions while also providing a superior blockchain infrastructure which can be adopted by various entities to reduce redundancy and fraud.

Property search sites, e-signature software and other innovations allow buyers, sellers and real estate agents to complete much of a real estate transaction online, but the title transfer process remains a barrier to automation. Propy says it can facilitate the secure transfer of assets by enforcing international data standards and by providing its blockchain-powered ledger to existing title registries. Propy aims to create a novel unified property store and asset transfer platform for the global real estate industry. Initially, the Propy Registry will mirror official land registry records in which transfers of real estate are recorded. Ultimately, however, Propy’s vision is that jurisdictions will adopt the Propy Registry as their official ledger of record.

Propy’s engineering team has designed a real estate transaction tool powered by smart contracts, combining solutions from the legal, blockchain and payments industries. Using blockchain technology, Propy has prototyped some of the core technology that will become the Propy Registry as a DApp, which allows each party to a real estate transaction — including the broker, buyer, seller and title agent/notary — to sign off on a transaction for properties located in California, which is Propy’s intended first market. Launching in California will allow the team to focus on driving consumer testing, adoption and improvements within a closed test market, before implementing the solution and driving continuous rapid growth throughout key markets around the world. Propy intends to include a modular system to allow regional governments to provide country-specific rules and regulations. Propy says that it has already begun the process of accelerating this transition across multiple metropolitan markets by talking to governments, local lawyers and local real estate players, and by developing a network of brokers in the UAE, UK, U.S. and a pipeline of international customers from Asia. Based on the founders’ experience, they anticipate that emerging markets will more quickly see the benefits of a pure P2P transaction model.

As of today, the Propy DApp has been developed to allow users to find properties and initiate the purchase process. Certain contracts (Title, Deed, Identity) have already been developed, while others (Agreements, Electronic Signatures, Payments, Escrow) are under development. Propy will also seek to develop a number of complementary software components such as a Propy Explorer (front-end gateway), API libraries, and data standards. In the future, Propy intends to use a distributed database to store listings as an intermediate step along the way to a decentralized solution.

PRO tokens, which are built on the ERC-20 token standard, are designed to be used to unlock a smart contract for title transfer in the Propy Registry. The essential and obligatory steps for a real estate acquisition on Propy Registry include the execution of the Deed Contract and Title Contract. The Propy Registry will require the use of PROs to pay the associated “Registry Fees” to record these modifications on the blockchain. The company says it will develop a method to insure that the Registry fees remain within a reasonable range relative to comparable services priced in fiat. Of the PROs paid for Registry Fees, 1/3 would be distributed to the company and 2/3 would go towards growing the network, as in rewards systems. Propy’s business model also consists of taking a small percentage of the final purchase price of any property purchased on the Propy network, as well as charging real estate brokers per transaction for using Propy’s technology and tools. Payment will initially be made in fiat currencies, and cryptocurrencies are planned to be added over time in the jurisdictions where it is possible to do so.

*Disclosure — At the time of writing, coins.best staff owned no Propy tokens.

Read the full review here.

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