When the pandemic started almost 2 years ago, we are sure most of us could not envision how the coming years would pan out. Restrictions, curfews, facemasks, and social distancing has humbled all of us, even to the extent that we have become accustomed to it. Death, loss-of-income, and lack of social life has left many of us stranded, with very few reasons to see the light beyond.Then there is the few of us. The few people who have found- and engaged in a burning passion to which the current societal state holds a smaller place in our mind compared to what the future holds. The few who understand that the infrastructure of digital life has been blessed by a system that disregards centralized governance in favour of the people. A system where we no longer trust, we verify.(Several team members are absent, working from different locations. To you; Soz)This modest letter is for the few of you, the investors and participants of the Brickken Community, that collectively moves us to a reality that brings investment inclusivity from the hands of institutional- and accredited investors back to anyone looking to grow their wealth through illiquid- high barrier-to-entry assets. This is for you who support and align in our vision to let the world tokenize itself, one asset at a time.
This year has been insane for the crypto space. The adoption rate of cryptocurrencies has soared over 880% this year, and over 2,300% since Q3 2019 (Finance Yahoo). Bitcoin reached $1 trillion and managed perfectly when China suddenly followed through with their longstanding threat of a crypto mining ban. El Salvador courageously acknowledged Bitcoin as legal tender, paving the way for national adoption. NFTs had a breakthrough year, and DEFI has seen unparalleled advancements.Meanwhile, Peter Schiff ramps up his Debbie Downer attitude, reminiscing upon the good ol´days when gold was king. Only one of many use-cases for blockchain tech that is most dear to us is the tokenized Real World Assets (RWA). Enabling a bridge from traditional finance- and equity to blockchain and fractional ownership, the market has not been left out in the dark. Currently sitting at ~$950M, reaching a high of $1 billion in April, the digital securities industry multiplied by 2,7X from the beginning of this year (Stomarket).Leading digital media outlet Cointelegraph also produced a 90-page long Security Token Report for 2021, assessing the potential and desire for tokenized assets. For the truly passionate reader, here is link for the full report.As an overview, the report acknowledged the huge benefits of instant settlements and 24/7/365 trading access that only a tokenized asset allows for. Not to mention self-custody and embedded regulatory compliance.Who is not attracted by the idea of being able to purchase some Growth Stocks 3AM a Sunday morning at the pub, shilled by a drunk stranger with his kids pawned in order to reach the glorious world of wealth!Jokes aside, the report could not be more BULLISH. Even taking an unknown reality of an established regulatory framework in mind. As if that was not enough, the tokenization market is forecasted to reach the significant highs of $1.5 – 14.7 trillion within 4 years.READ THAT AGAIN$1.5 – 14.7 trillion within 4 yearsThis is a range that is based on, and falls within, the forecasts of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) and PwC to name a few.But we are not here for a general year-in-review. For that I highly recommend the recently issued Messari Crypto Theses 2022, a very comprehensive, thorough and pleasant read for the average crypto enthusiast. What I wanted to underline was that the space is evolving at an unprecedented rate, engaging some of the world´s best- and brightest (shoutout to the developers who pave the way for Brickken’s success: Dario, Yassir, Felipe, Cruz, José, and Pedro to name a few) and if there is any time to be Bullish… it's NOW!
Instead, let us focus on our own progress. Focus on our year and all the massive events, announcements, and advancements that continuously reinforce the legitimacy and future potential of Brickken being one of the leading actors in the tokenization space.The progress has truly been amazing considering we started the journey only past year. The whitepaper was finalized, and the first version of our platform was released to the public. A ton of underlying tech has been put into place to smoothen and prepare for the transition towards a fully decentralised Version 2 platform, which is fueld by our own utulity token the $BKN, for which we began our Private-Sale Phase in which over 50% of the allocated tokens already has been sold, looking real well going into 2022 and our upcoming IDO in Uniswap on March 1st, 2022.We tokenized our first assets, like Zero2 or XaveCoin and built a Pipeline of over €45 million ready to be tokenized. All this thanks to the tireless work and dedication of our team, constantly displaying ourselves at various events all over Europe, networking, forming partnerships and increasing our presence within the head of the greatest minds in the blockchain-industry. And the feedback was great, with several nominations (such as AIBC Tokenization Project of the Year alongside the likes of Chiliz), even more finalist positions and continuously being invited to pitch and speak at events. All this while taking on the load of tokenizing a real Tyrannosaurus Rex. I mean, who would not want to own a piece of the most iconic Apex Predator of all time. If that doesn't show our ambition, I don't know what does.With all these long hours and tireless nights, our work has already borne fruit in the form of 2 MAJOR Announcements in December:
The Neotec subsidy is the biggest one in Spain with connections to the European Investment Fund (EIF). It is most renowned as being given on a yearly basis to a very few top tech companies in all of Spain. In Brickken´s case we were awarded 80% of our ask, resulting in the highest pay-out possible. This means that Brickken is given a total of €325.000 marked for further development of the company. Furthermore, we were given the third-highest note of the awarded companies, and the top blockchain company. This is major milestone, but it is bigger what it means to us, and it is the Spanish government is funding our dApp and our utility token, the $BKN.A very good sign that at the Europena level we are on the right track.
To understand the ramifications of our admission into Spain´s financial regulatory Sandbox, let us go over briefly what that is.The worldwide financial system is truly a wild beast. The presence of a safe, relevant- and productive regulatory framework is crucial to incorporate these new technologies with the existing financial system so as to allow society as a whole to evolve. The problem with new technologies is that.. well.. It is new. To mitigate the risk of harmful and obstructive regulations, live experiments are oftentimes held through a collaboration between the regulators and innovators where the trial of new products, services, and business models are held in a safe space. This to confirm the potential- and relevance of new regulations with existing frameworks before implementing it into the wider sector.That is why it is such a big deal for Brickken, as alongside only 3 other innovators, were admitted into Spain's Financial Sandbox in this second cohort. We got accepted for testing a secondary market for tokenized start-ups, allowing for the potential to test how an exchange using blockchain-technology will be incorporated into the financial system. This is another hint that the Spanish government is trusting Brickken to put them into the spotlight of asset token offerings worldwide and Brickken has now become their vehicle.Thus, our goal is to obtain the license to be the first-ever launchpad and secondary exchange for Security Token Offerings in the EU. As a result we can begin discussions with start-ups, accelerators, and incubators looking to tokenize equity- and debt in a fully legally compliant manner.These are both massive announcements, and we cannot overstate the magnitude of what this will mean going into 2022. For us, regulatory compliance is everything for our long-term success. And having a position in the forefront of financial technology, backed-up by national- and international governmental bodies, opens up all kinds of doors and potential moving forward. Combine this with this year's progress and the future looks very bright.1 year ago we were halfway our acceleration program in Startupbootcamp, one of the most important worldwide, and entering 2021 with excitement and uncertainty, but clear goals as to what was needed to put Brickken as a top tokenization platform. 365 days later we were not only able to accomplish what we set out for, but we surpassed them by far.Now entering 2022, uncertainty is no longer on the table as we have a clear vision on what we will be creating and how this can change the securities market. Our goals just became massive, but we have no doubt that as a team we can accomplish them. Obviously, the road to today has not been easy, we had some very difficult days, where it seems easier to throw the towel than to keep on walking the desert, but all these days were just a lesson to be learned.We write this post to transmit to you what you are helping us build, because now you have become part of Brickken. THANK YOU! #tothemoon
