BitFlyer and Sumitomo will Create an Application on the Blockchain for Renting Real Estate

BitFlyer Blockchain and Sumitomo Corporation have joined forces to develop a blockchain-based mobile application for signing real estate leases.

CNET Japan reports that firms plan to create a “one-stop-shop” that allows users to search for real estate, make orders, sign contracts and pay for various expenses, as well as implement procedures for extending the contract and terminating it.

BitFlyer and Sumitomo note that the application will use smart contracts on the blockchain to improve the efficiency of the rental business, reduce costs and speed up the registration process for the rental property. BitFlyer Blockchain is a subsidiary of bitFlyer Holdings and the cryptocurrency exchange of the same name.

Companies want to expand the services offered to related contractual services, for example, in the area of ​​guarantors and insurance companies. Since insurance and guarantees are a prerequisite for renting, firms expect these services to be gradually digitized.

The planned application will become a link between the tenant and the management company or intermediary. The publication states that all parties will be able to digitize the process of concluding a contract, starting with the first request and ending with the signing of the contract.

In addition, information about the parties will be stored in the system for subsequent contractual transactions and will be associated with a rating or credit dossier. BitFlyer Blockchain’s Managing Director, Yuzo Kano, said that the app will open a “world where everything from search to contract signing is accomplished using a smartphone.” According to him, this will “greatly simplify” the process of concluding a real estate lease agreement and “significantly reduce” administrative costs.

Blockchain is increasingly used in real estate. In Malta, the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, announced in June that, in accordance with the new laws, all rental agreements in the country will be registered
in the blockchain system. And in early summer, the Dubai government signed
agreement on the introduction of blockchain in real estate.