Meet Karoline Kolman: RWA Regional Hub Perth Chair & Blocksquare Ambassador.
Hey readers! I am Karoline Kolman, the RWA Regional Hub Chair in Perth and an Ambassador for Blocksquare. I am super passionate about exploring the latest tech innovations. My interests range from smart contracts, blockchain, Web3, and metaverses to the Internet of Things (IoT). All the way to real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation, the circular economy, and social impact. I’m always curious about how these emerging technologies can reshape the world we are living in!
I bring a background in local and state government contracts and procurement, which has given me a solid foundation in managing throughout the complex systems. Along the way, I have also volunteered for several groups, including the enkel collective, who manage the iconic Naval Store building in Walyalup (Fremantle).
Recently, I discovered the world of artificial intelligence, and wow – AI applications have completely opened my eyes to the new connections and tools we have at our fingertips. They are transforming how we share and spread information, making it more effective and efficient. I am committed to learning as much as I can and sharing that knowledge with the community. I am also super passionate about creating value and applying it within communities to expand boundaries and unlock new opportunities.
Introduction to the Perth Landing Pad Program.
Recently, I had the pleasure of catching up with Jacek Korneluk, a Blocksquare Ambassador, at the Riff Spacecubed office. It is very exciting because Blocksquare has been accepted into The Perth Landing Pad program! This program is sponsored by Spacecubed, the City of Perth, and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science, and Innovation, which is such a fantastic opportunity to grow and collaborate within the local tech scene.
The Perth Landing Pad program provides international startups and innovators with a soft landing to establish a business presence in Western Australia. This initiative supports collaboration, innovation, and networking, offering resources including co-working spaces, mentorship, and local connections to help businesses thrive. Startups benefit from networking events, mentorship opportunities, and direct access to key industries in Perth, making it an invaluable resource for anyone looking to expand into the Asia-Pacific regions or break into the Australian market.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Korneluk and I had the chance to attend the celebration of the MOU signing for InnoLab Asia’s entry into the Perth Landing Pad at Fern, part of Spacecubed. It was an exciting event, with Minister Stephen Dawson delivering a great speech. We were also fortunate enough to meet Minister Dawson in person, which was an awesome opportunity to connect with key players driving innovation in the region.
What is Blocksquare? Understanding Real-World Asset Tokenisation.
Blocksquare is a real estate tokenisation-as-a-service platform, designed to bring the benefits of blockchain into the real estate world. An exciting part of the system is Oceanpoint, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform that allows users to tokenise the “economic rights” to real estate. Beyond that, the platform enables users to purchase tokens in other available properties, participate in governance through the decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), and even launch their own marketplace, or contribute to other (white-label) marketplaces via the RWA launchpad.
Success Stories: Global Marketplaces Using Blocksquare’s Oceanpoint DeFi Platform.
Recently, through a new partnership with Tokeniza from Spain via Blocksquare’s RWA Launchpad, “non-performing loans” are also being tokenized.
Other exciting RWA Launchpad participants include Portio Capital from Belgium, which focuses on co-living and was the first to tokenise a property in Spain. Rancho Altos in Mexico is tokenising a large piece of land in the hills, with plans to build a historic tequila distillery. In Kampala, Uganda, Pieme is tokenising hotels, allowing investments starting as low as $150 via Blocksquare’s Oceanpoint platform.
As of writing this, Blocksquare has $128.9 million in tokenised assets, representing 139 properties across 24 countries, with 12 active marketplaces.
A Productive Meeting at Riff: Insights on Blockchain and Web3.
After a very productive meeting at Riff, where we discussed insights on Blockchain and Web3, Mr. Korneluk invited me to an evening event organised by Perth AI Innovators at The Platform. Naturally, I could not pass it up! The event focused on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and how to build a simple AI agent, which was right up my interest. I have been fascinated by AI for a while, and recently, I did a search for Blocksquare on Perplexity.AI. I was blown away by how much the platform already knew about RWA.
It is pretty impressive!
Join Us for the “Intro to Blocksquare’s RWA Launchpad” Event.
As the RWA Regional Hub Perth team, we’re excited to organise events that dive into RWA tokenisation, Web3, and blockchain. Coming up at the end of this month (Monday, 30 September 2024), we are hosting an event called “Intro to Blocksquare’s RWA Launchpad” at our Spacecubed office.
If you’re in Perth, Western Australia, do not miss out, please. Just sign up and join us! You won’t regret it, and you’re bound to learn something new. Plus, free tickets are still available!
Connecting with PropTech Innovators: My Journey with Blocksquare and Whizzl.
It is honestly overwhelming to reflect on all the incredible work the Blocksquare team has accomplished this year. I began my journey as the RWA Regional Hub Perth Chair and Ambassador at the start of the year, and it has been an exciting journey ever since. Before joining, I had the privilege of working alongside Julia Buchholz, Chief Marketing Officer at Blocksquare, at PropTech Hub WA, where we collaborated with Whizzl – a Malaysian-based property maintenance app utilizing blockchain technology.
Whizzl has quite the track record, winning both the PropTech in Gov Hackathon with the Smart Cities team in 2021 and the Pentanet-sponsored PropTech Hub WA PEXA “Global Go Getter 2021” award. That experience sparked my curiosity, leading me to discover other innovative PropTech companies around the world.
I found out that Whizzl made the Top 4 at the Crypto Valley (CV) Summit for Real Estate in 2019 in Zug, Switzerland, where Blocksquare took home the top prize. I even wrote about it in my article, “Brick House on the Block.”
Celebrating Blocksquare’s Achievements: Awards and Recognitions.
Fortunately, I had the chance to reconnect with PropTech Hub WA this year, which was an exciting moment! Blocksquare was nominated and went on to win Emerging PropTech of the Year 2024 at the Cygnet West and PropTech Hub WA awards, generously sponsored by Radium Capital. I wrote about the event, as it was a proud moment for our team.
Blocksquare has also been a key sponsor of the WAWEB3 Association which has hosted numerous speaking engagements. This includes the Conference back in March 2024 at the UWA Club, as well as hosting Blockchain Australia Week with WAWEB3: Defining the Frontiers of Web3 Adoption. They also organised the Bali Blockchain Summit 2024. Blocksquare’s CMO, Julia Buchholz, has been a standout speaker at all these events, sharing Blocksquare’s vision and insights.
UK’s Legal Shift on Crypto and Digital Assets: What It Means for Blockchain.
Recently, when researching about blockchain I noticed that UK Introduces Bill to Clarify Crypto’s Legal Status. The paper mentioning that “The U.K. government introduced a bill to Parliament highlighting the legal status of digital assets including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).” The Press release “New bill introduced in Parliament to clarify crypto’s legal status”. Further, it explains that “The Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill introduced in Parliament today will, for the first time in British history, allow digital holdings – including cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens like digital art, and carbon credits – to be considered personal property under the law.
This is further outlined in the summary of the final report on Digital Assets by the Law Commission .
The definition of digital assets is incredibly broad, encompassing a wide range of items such as digital files, digital records, email accounts, domain names, in-game digital assets, digital carbon credits, crypto-tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It also highlights that “crypto tokens” are treated as a thing of value in themselves.
It’s a bit easier now!
Final thoughts.
Every day, I learn and discover something new about RWA, tokenisation protocols, new Web3 applications, and fresh approaches to blockchain. Emerging technologies represent a hot topic and a rapidly evolving environment. I attempt to stay up-to-date and share the latest developments.
So, I strongly encourage you to learn and share together.
Cheers, Karoline.
You can follow me at:
X: @karo_kol
Medium: https://medium.com/@kolka21
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karoline-kolman-28ab5582
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as legal, investment, financial, or other advice. Please do your own research.