While we may be still some time away from public adoption Ragnar noted that larger firms with a significant amount of units or properties can still use the blockchain to track their portfolio internally as a first step. On their website they invite those who own five or more properties to test out their platform.

The session I enjoyed the most was dedicated to this, titled “Blockchain: What are the opportunities & challenges of peer to peer real estate?”. Although the general consensus was that we are still early when it comes to widespread adoption of blockchain for real estate there were several interesting takeaways.

One of the panelists was Achim Jedelsky, who works for Daimler Real Estate, a division of the auto company. The company is currently looking at what improvements can be made for existing processes, including transactions. While it was clear they are only exploring a few use cases internally and he didn’t get into specifics it’s interesting that a company that focuses on automobiles is exploring blockchain. Daimler is a company that may not strike you as an innovative company, but they are clearly forward thinking even in their auto business having recently invested in auto finance startup AutoGravity.

We still are very early when it comes to blockchain implementations, particularly in real estate, but applying the blockchain to real estate holds a lot of potential. Many companies are exploring use cases internally and are also doing external proof of concepts as shared above. Transacting real estate has traditionally been a slow and time intensive process but technology will eventually make the process more efficient, reducing costs for all involved.

上周整周，我参加了全球地产界规模最大的会议——国际商业地产投资交易会（MIPIM）。会议主要聚焦传统房地产业，但仍专门讨论了在欧洲常被称作房产科技的ProTech。我最感兴趣的是各公司如何将科技应用于房地产业，且将区块链技术与房地产业结合是一项大机遇。

Panelists also highlighted the opportunity of the technology being applied to crowdfunding. There are three perceived benefits:

许多公司着力将区块链技术应用于房地产业，并取得了新进展。velox.RE就是其中之一。velox.RE的创始人Ragnar Lifthrasir在小组会议上讲解了该公司的开放式平台，平台可供进行财产转移、记录及支付。Ragnar Lifthrasir还是国际区块链房地产协会（International Blockchain Real Estate Association）的创始人兼主席。该协会致力于协助房地产业采用区块链技术。

One of the companies focused on blockchain applied to real estate that is making more progress is velox.RE. Founder Ragnar Lifthrasir spoke on the panel explaining his company’s open real estate platform that includes property transfer, recording, and payments. He is also the Founder & President of the International Blockchain Real Estate Association which aims to help the real estate industry adopt blockchain technology.

若论区块链的应用，我们尚处于初期阶段，房地产业尤为如此，但我认为未来市场仍然潜力巨大。诚如上述，许多公司正在进行内部实验，也推出了外部概念验证产品。传统房地产交易程序漫长耗时，单技术将使这一程序更富效率，并为各方节约成本。

Ultimately, the applications of blockchain for real estate is going to depend a lot on the local market and adoption needs to be done with the government when required. Ragnar provided an example of the current situation in the US where conveyance is separate from recording which means that they can start using blockchain for part of the transaction process. He shared that the blockchain can also be used for transactions when multiple signatures are required. This can be done by issuing multiple private keys to various stakeholders such as a notary, the property owners, the buyer etc.

Last week I spent the week at MIPIM, the largest conference in world dedicated to real estate. The conference is focused mostly on traditional real estate, but a portion of it was dedicated to what is often referred to as PropTech in Europe. What’s most interesting to me is how companies are applying technology to real estate and one of the big opportunities is bringing blockchain technology to real estate.

要让房地产业采用区块链技术的关键之一在于证明该技术可节约成本，降低风险。随着大型公司开始使用这一技术，Ragnar相信其他公司也会紧随其后。芝加哥库克县（Cook County）目前正与velox.RE进行一项实验项目，项目包括转移及追踪财产所有权、留置权。宣布库克县与velox.RE合作的新闻发布会概述了区块链技术的诱人之处：

For boutique real estate investors or even homeowners there is also an opportunity on a smaller scale to increase the efficiency and lessen the cost of the home buying process. For instance, closing costs can be reduced by reducing the friction that is currently involved in real estate transactions.

我最喜欢的会议讨论的就是这个名为：“区块链：P2P房地产业存在哪些机遇与挑战？”的议题。虽然人们普遍认为在房地产业广泛采用区块链技术尚为时尚早，但我还是发现了一些有趣的要点。

一名小组成员名为Achim Jedelsky，来自戴姆勒房地产（Daimler Real Estate）。戴姆勒房地产属汽车制造商戴姆勒旗下。该公司目前正在研究改进现行程序，如交易过程。尽管该公司显然只是做了几项内部测试，此成员也未谈到具体细节，但一家销售汽车的公司研究区块链技术，这一现象就很有趣。你可能并不认为戴姆勒是一家具有革新精神的公司，但该公司显然具备前瞻性思维，其汽车业务新进投资了汽车金融创企AutoGravity。

对精品房投资者甚至是私房房主来说。也有个可提升购房程序效率并降低成本小机会。比如，减少房产交易中的摩擦就可降低房产买卖手续费。

从根本上说，区块链技术应用于房地产业在很大程度上取决于当地市场，必要时还需与政府联手才可完成。Ragnar举了一个例子说明现状，在美国传送与记录分离，意味着其可在某些交易步骤开始使用区块链技术。他还分享道区块链技术可应用于需多方签名的交易中，只要向公证人、财产所有人、买房等利益相关方发放不同的私人密钥就可完成。

会上还提及将区块链技术应用至新兴市场。我们经常读到报道称区块链技术可助益新兴市场，新兴市场可能是区块链技术的先行者，但仍存在一些挑战。区块链是一项可验证的分布式系统，然而在发展中国家启动这一技术更为艰难。有些国家政府腐败，而恰需要政府核准财产初始所有权。Ragnar表示在这种情况下除了和政府合作别无选择，但财产所有人缺刻开始使用这类软件，尽管其最初并不具法律约束力。随着房屋主开始使用此类软件，就可推动政府不得不参与，以弥合缺口。

小组成员们还强调了将区块链应用于众筹领域的良机，益处有三：