Harbor Launches Tokenized Equity Purchases With Real Estate Offering

Blockchain startup Harbor has officially launched its security token compliance platform and is moving to offer digitized shares in a high-rise building located in in South Carolina.

Announced Tuesday at CoinDesk's Consensus: Invest event, Harbor is now allowing investors to register to buy shares in apartment block called The Hub at Columbia, owned by the real-estate wing of DRW Holdings, Convexity Properties.

The company, which raised $28 million earlier this year, develops ERC-20 tokens, an ethereum standard, for companies that want to put up equity or other forms of interest by way of a tokenized offering.

Harbor CEO Josh Stein told CoinDesk that the company's platform allows it to track security token trading and investors' real-world identity in real-time, ensuring that token sales are "Compliant every time, everywhere."

The key difference comes from the platform's use of a blockchain protocol and structure, which allow companies to tap into a wider pool of investors.

Typically, an offering like Convexity's might be sold to 10 or 20 investors, each of whom would have to contribute a significantly larger chunk of the total funding.

Harbor's platform makes it easier for anywhere from 100 to 2,000 accredited investors to participate, allowing each a $21,000 minimum stake, which is smaller than the norm.

The 2,000 investor limit is a regulatory one as well - companies with a higher number of investors must go public.

Once an investor is approved, they can sign the documents purchasing the tokens electronically.

The offering means that investors are able to participate in sales alongside major operators.