Helmsley Spear, Hercules SEZC Combine to Bring Mobile Payments Tech to Real Estate Records
We’ve seen quite a few uses for blockchain over the last few years. The sheer number of cryptocurrencies on the market makes that much abundantly clear. Yet the uses for blockchain go beyond cryptocurrency, and Helmsley Spear and Hercules SEZC have tipped us off about their new initiative to bring blockchain to securing real estate records.
Helmsley Spear is actually the oldest continuously-operating real estate company in the United States, going back to 1866. Meanwhile, Hercules SEZC deals in blockchain supply operations, which allow the two to work together surprisingly well. Right now, the duo is working on documenting rent rolls connected with Helmsley Spear’s commercial operations, and using blockchain to establish provenance with building documentation.
Once complete, the project should create a whole new way to conduct rent roll operations using a blockchain system connected to database management functions. It should in turn make the whole process more manageable, safer, and overall more effective thanks to a digital audit trail that blockchain would allow to happen. Additionally, the concept should adapt itself well to large numbers of records; Hercules’ systems allow for data management that costs just $0.32 per 10,000 entries.
Helmsley Spear executive Oliver Swig noted “Blockchain technology can be the critical connection between technology systems of real estate companies and other participants in leasing or property management transactions through the provision of a more open and shared database for all involved parties.”
It’s not the kind of use of blockchain we normally see, but the good news here is that it’s proof positive that this technology isn’t just a flash in the pan. With more companies putting blockchain to use, the chances of cryptocurrency drying up and blowing away—except for maybe some of that 1,600 different kinds—is minimal. With that kind of assurance in place, crypto as an investment product may yet prove useful.
Only time will tell the ultimate outcome here, but the move between Helmsley Spear and Hercules represents one more reason to stick with blockchain and its by-products. Not to mention one more reason that at least some cryptocurrency exposure isn’t out of line.