As interest in purchasing property in the metaverse grows, the very first non-fungible token (NFT) office building has been auctioned in New York City.
The 4,700 square meter NFT “located” at 44 West 37th Street operates as an irreversible digital asset that intends to monetize and validate ownership of the building’s digital assets. It was bought by a real estate developer, Azul NYC.
The sale of the 16-story building that questions the function of architecture in real estate and the metaverse was announced at the beginning of September by Integrated Projects. In addition, the 44W37 NFT was issued on the decentralized, open-source blockchain Ethereum (ETH) and sold for only 1 ETH, which is today worth over $1,300. Integrated Projects was founded by Jose Cruz Jr., according to Integrated Projects.
“NFTs are not a new phenomenon. Scans of structures in 3D are not new… “What’s unique is the combination of these technologies with blockchain utility, which enables building owners to create, own, trade, and monetize their digital assets in a manner comparable to that of physical assets.”
Owners are able to build, hold, sell, and monetize their digital assets without having to worry about the difficulty of transferring property ownership.
This means that instead of selling or purchasing real estate, one trades in digital assets such as images, 3D scans, floor plans, virtual tours, and location reports. Due to the fast nature of the transaction process when utilizing an NFT, a buyer may take ownership of a piece of real estate within minutes.
NFTs provide the opportunity to enact severe property regulations, not just for the physical estate but also for intellectual property. As with many other skyscrapers in Manhattan, the “44W37” might mark the beginning of a new era in architecture and real estate in megacities.
“The digital revolution of commercial real estate will profoundly alter how we design, construct, run, and monetize our facilities,” says Jack Ezon, Principal of Azul NYC. “Today is just the beginning.”
Notably, Finbold revealed last year that New York City residents may now buy or sell real estate using Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ether (ETH), thus the current NFT transaction represents the next step of expansion in the city as virtual property investments continue to attract investors.
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