Sony Bank partners with Mitsui Digital Assets platform to offer real estate digital investment opportunities anytime

The digital asset management company Mitsui & Co Digital Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Mitsui Group, announced a partnership with Sony Bank. Through a mobile app, users can link their bank accounts to directly invest in digital real estate properties on Mitsui Alterna, with a minimum threshold of only 100,000 Japanese yen.

Online Bank Sony Bank Offers 24/7 Deposit and Investment Services

Sony Bank is a Japanese commercial bank affiliated with Sony Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. Established in 2001, it was jointly funded by Sony and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Sony Bank operates without physical branches or ATMs, similar to Taiwan's new type of online banks such as Line Bank and Rakuten Bank. The bank's main services include foreign currency deposits, trust investments, home loans, and other services provided through online banking, especially via smartphone apps.

Through the service connection between Sony Bank and Mitsui's Alterna, Sony Bank can offer fast deposit services, supporting round-the-clock payments for Alterna investments.

Real Estate Investment Tokenization Using Blockchain Achieves Small-Scale Diversified Allocation

Mitsui & Co Digital Asset Management, a digital asset management company under the Mitsui Group, issued blockchain-based real estate NFTs as early as the end of 2021. It was a collaborative NFT project developed with MUFG and SBI Securities. Mitsui & Co serves as the asset manager, MUFG acts as the trustee, and provides the Progmat blockchain security token platform for issuance. SBI Securities is the main underwriter, offering individual investors the opportunity for small investments in real estate.

MUFG's Progmat blockchain infrastructure involves a large number of participants, details of which can be found in previous reports.

In collaboration with Sony Bank this time, users can directly participate via their smartphones, with the minimum investment amount being 100,000 Japanese Yen, approximately 22,000 New Taiwan Dollars. This lower threshold makes it more accessible for investors interested in real estate investments.

Mitsui & Co leverages its expertise in real estate to select suitable cases, including real estate and other infrastructure, and handles complex matters such as management fees, utilities, and taxes. The profits are then directly distributed to investors, similar to traditional financial real estate investment trusts (REITs), but utilizing blockchain technology to ensure transparency throughout the process. The recently launched Alterna platform by Mitsui is designed to streamline all processes for general customers. According to information on their website, properties on Alterna are single units, allowing investors to choose their preferred real estate properties, such as a commercial office building. The information is transparent, whereas traditional REITs typically bundle multiple properties together and split them into smaller units for investors to purchase.

Tokenized real estate and contracts are expected to become more common in the future. For other examples, please see: Homebase issuing real estate NFTs, allowing everyone to become a landlord on the blockchain.