Sumitomo and BitFlyer Blockchain to Build Real Estate Platform in Japan

Japanese commercial giant Sumitomo Corporation has partnered with a sister company of local cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer to launch a blockchain real estate business. bitFlyer Blockchain will develop an umbrella platform for renting real estate, driven by smart contracts on its in-house Miyabi blockchain. Yuzo Kano, managing director of bitFlyer Blockchain, added that the aim of the project was to enable rental parties to complete the entire process from a smartphone. “It can greatly simplify the real estate rental contracts process, and the intermediary company can also reduce its significant administrative costs,” he told A prototype should be available towards the end of this year, with a full rollout in 2020. The announcement comes as blockchain’s potential to transform the real estate industry more widely is gaining considerable attention.