Our SolidBlock tokenization model Road Trip 2019 continues and this time we’re heading to the Balkan region for a series of events in Sofia, Bulgaria.
First up, on April 11th, we’re holding an exclusive real estate tokenization meetup for industry leaders and innovators from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. – we’re calling it Next Stop: Sofia, Bulgaria, and you can sign up free here if you’re going to be in the area.
Then, the very next day, we’re coming to the NextBlock Conference on April 12th. Ido Shacham will be speaking on a panel on “Digitization of Securities – Opportunities and Challenges,” while Yael Tamar will join a panel addressing the question of “Are Utility Tokens Dead or is there a Future for Them?” For tickets and full information, check out the NextBlock site.
Outside of those two events, we’re thrilled to be setting up a series of one-on-one meetings with developers, investors, and others from Bulgaria and beyond to talk about opportunities in tokenization.
Bulgaria is ripe for real estate development, with increasing pressure due to low building rates and demand for both residential and commercial properties. And, in familiar territory for SolidBlock, ski resorts are among the hottest real estate assets going in the region.
Thanks to our successful launch of the STO of AspenCoin last fall, raising $18 million through the tokenization of the five-star St. Regis Aspen Resort, we have unique expertise in this area and are actively seeking opportunities to partner with Bulgarian developers and investors to make this kind of success a reality there as well.
Bulgaria is quickly becoming a blockchain hotspot of Eastern Europe, with many exciting startups and entrepreneurs, including female entrepreneurs, which is always something we can get behind. Perhaps most exciting in recent news has been the announcement by Bulgarian blockchain leader Aeternity Ventures of a new round in 2019 of its successful Starfleet Accelerator Program, providing mentorship for killer app use cases built around the aeternity blockchain.
Fintech is an area poised to take off in Bulgaria for a number of reasons. Traditionally, Bulgaria’s financial institutions were slow to develop, held back by the country’s Communist past, bureaucratic red tape, and delays in privatization.
As a result, the country was slow to attract foreign investment. But since 2000, things have begun turning around thanks to membership in the World Trade Organization. Today, with its growing blockchain expertise and renewed commitment to financial innovation, as seen in last week’s announcement of two new loans from the EU Bank, including loans for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), the country is sure to be a magnet for eager foreign investors over the very near future.
As we’ve seen from existing projects, tokenization offers a number of distinct advantages in a country like Bulgaria: speed, transparency, liquidity, and the ability to circumvent inefficiencies inherent in traditional investment structures.
If you’re in or around Sofia, we’d love to arrange a time to chat while we’re there to see how tokenization can help you accomplish your investment or development goals. Get in touch – we can’t wait to hear from you!