A large chunk of the world’s wealth today is locked in illiquid assets, therefore they are typically traded at a discount. 

Although the use of these new digital tools has yet to be widely regulated in the US, new laws in Europe are set to take effect in 2025 which may lead to investors reconsidering the idea of tokenising real-world assets, including real estate, high-value art, and equities, among others. 

“Tokenising” is a way of turning tangible assets into digital fragments of themselves, using blockchain technology. The tokens function on the blockchain through smart contracts, and one token can represent a whole object as well as its part. 

However, interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based digital assets has recently grown, crypto investments can be complex, making it difficult to understand the risks associated with the investment. 

There are almost 9,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, and, according to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, they all pose high risks and are speculative as an investment. 

While many investors see advantages in diversifying their portfolio with digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, the FCA stresses that many of them are highly volatile, even a post from an influencer can have a huge impact on the price. “You should never invest money into crypto that you can’t afford to lose,” sounds Silvina Moschini, founder of Unicoin and Unicorn Hunters agrees with the latter, even though she has recently carried out the highest-valued property transaction involving cryptocurrencies to date – a more than $500 million property deal involving the Bahamas islands of Long Island and Andros Island. It was entirely paid for by a cryptocurrency called Unicoin. 

Unicorn is the cryptocurrency of a firm called Unicorn Hunters, which uses crowd-funding as a way of seeking out start-ups to invest in with what they believe will ultimately have a valuation of more than $1 billion (€930m). According to their study of the market, two of the top three countries with properties available to buy with cryptocurrencies were in Europe. Spain had 289, Thailand offered 227 and Portugal 130.