Real Estate Tokenization Platform
A client from the UK approached Merehead with a concept that, while seemingly simple, posed significant technical challenges: enabling everyday individuals to invest in rental properties using NFTs, with no legal obstacles or minimum investment requirements, and automated payouts directly to their wallets. We developed BrickFi, a comprehensive DeFi platform that associates each NFT with a real rental property. The model is straightforward: BrickFi Inc. enters into lease agreements with property owners, establishes a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) for each asset, and mints approximately 1,000 NFTs. Each token represents a proportional stake in the rental income. Investors can buy NFTs from the marketplace, receive monthly payouts in USDC, and resell their tokens on the secondary market. Beneath the surface, the platform comprises several independent systems, including Solidity smart contracts on the Polygon network for low transaction fees and speed, a PHP and PostgreSQL backend, and Ethers.js for blockchain interactions. We're integrated with Stripe for USD transactions and Circle for USDC payments, allowing both crypto-savvy and traditional users to utilize the platform. The administrative area is protected by Cloudflare WAF, two-factor authentication, and IP whitelisting. The entire process—from the legal framework to minting and distributing income—is fully automated, requiring no effort from the investors. Prior to starting any coding, we outlined the complete system architecture, including navigation, user flows, and module interconnections, which helped avoid rework and saved considerable time. The user interface is designed with a clean, minimalist aesthetic, catering to users who may be new to cryptocurrency. A team of eight specialists completed the project in three months employing a hybrid Scrum and Kanban approach. The technology stack includes PHP, Node.js, React, Solidity, Polygon, Ethers.js, Stripe, Circle/USDC, AWS, Docker, and GitLab CI/CD.