Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform DigitShares is bringing tokenized real estate trading to Polygon with the launch of RealEstate.Exchange, also known as REX.

According to a March 25 announcement, REX is designed to offer retail investors a compliant venue for fractional property investments in a secondary market, potentially addressing the industry’s existing liquidity constraints. As Cointelegraph explained, secondary RWA trading platforms provide liquid off-ramps for investors looking to cash out of their holdings. 

The REX platform will launch with two luxury property listings in Miami, Florida, including The Legacy Hotel & Residences, a 529-unit tower managed by real estate investment platform FraXion, and a 38-unit residential complex managed by Trade Estate.

A street view of The Legacy Hotel & Residences in Miami, Florida. Source: Google Maps

DigiShares CEO Claus Skaaning told Cointelegraph that REX intends to support “various property types, including residential, commercial and luxury real estate.” In addition to the two Miami properties, REX has “5-6 additional properties in the pipeline,” said Skaaning.

Polygon’s proof-of-stake blockchain was selected due to its low transaction costs, fast settlement times and robust security, the company said. 

Polygon is the 13th-largest blockchain based on 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinGecko. 

REX is licensed in the United States through Texture Capital, a registered broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The platform is participating in an EU blockchain sandbox as it seeks registration under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) frameworks. 

According to the announcement, REX is also eyeing registrations in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. 

REX’s parent company, DigiShares, has facilitated between $100 million and $200 million in tokenized real estate assets since 2018.

DigiShares is one of several companies vying for a piece of the tokenized real estate market. In February, Blocksquare introduced a real estate tokenization framework in the EU, which would allow property owners to tokenize economic rights tied to property.

The United Arab Emirates has also emerged as a hotbed for tokenized real estate, with Mantra Finance securing a license to expand RWA services in Dubai.

Related: Tokenization can transform real estate investing — Polygon CEO

RWA market gaining traction

The RWA tokenization market, which extends beyond real estate to include traditional financial assets, art and intellectual property, has reached a cumulative $62 billion, according to data from Security Token Market (STM). 

The market capitalization of tokenized assets continues to grow. Source: STM

STM data currently tracks 595 real estate tokens, which represent the largest number of active tokens by asset class but are much smaller than debt and equity tokens in terms of monetary value. 

Although real estate tokenization remains in its early days, Mantra co-founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin told Cointelegraph that the industry could be worth trillions in the near future. 

“If you’re looking at the base ecosystem right now, it’s still a drop in the ocean compared to where we expect this to go in the mid-to long term. It’s in the tens of billions. We’re expecting this to go into potentially trillions of dollars of assets onchain,” he said.

Magazine: Block by block: Blockchain technology is transforming the real estate market

Traditional and cryptocurrency investors eagerly await Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) release in the US, which may provide some relief to inflation-related concerns and increase investor appetite for risk assets including Bitcoin.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release on March 28 the next PCE report, which measures the inflation of prices US consumers are paying for goods and services.

The PCE inflation print may become the “next key catalyst” for Bitcoin (BTC) and other risk assets, according to QCP Group, a Singapore-based digital asset firm.

QCP wrote on Telegram:

“As we approach Friday’s quarterly expiry, with the highest open interest in topside strikes above $100K, we don’t expect major volatility driven by options positioning alone. But attention will turn to the PCE inflation print, which could become the next key catalyst.”

Risk assets staged a significant recovery after “Trump signaled twice on Monday that trading partners might secure exemptions or reductions, offering a reprieve that helped soothe market jitters,” QCP added.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy surpasses 500,000 Bitcoin with latest purchase

Other analysts have pointed at global trade war concerns as the biggest hurdle for investor appetite.

Despite a multitude of positive crypto-specific developments, global tariff fears will continue to pressure the markets until at least April 2, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the tariffs from April 2nd onward, maybe we’ll see some of them dropped but it depends if all countries can agree,” Sondergaard said.

BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin’s price is down over 14% since US President Donald Trump first announced import tariffs on Chinese goods on Jan. 20, the day of his presidential inauguration.

Still, analysts expect the PCE report to further soothe inflation-related concerns, catalyzing Bitcoin’s historic rally for the month of April.

Source: CoinGlass

Bitcoin has averaged over a 12.9% monthly return during April, making it the fourth-best month for Bitcoin’s price based on historic returns, CoinGlass data shows.

Related: Crypto debanking is not over until Jan 2026: Caitlin Long

Bitcoin may rally to $110,000 record high on easing inflation concerns

Bitcoin is more likely to soar to a new $110,000 all-time high before retracing to $76,500, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom.

Bitcoin’s rise to the record $110,000 mark “appears plausible in the current market environment,” according to Juan Pellicer, senior research analyst at IntoTheBlock.

“BTC is showing signs of recovery, driven by growing institutional interest and significant investments from large players,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to ease its monetary tightening could further boost liquidity, favoring a price increase in the near term.”

“While market volatility remains a risk that could lead to a pullback, the overall momentum and support levels suggest Bitcoin is more likely to hit the higher target first,” added Pellicer.

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BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) on multiple European stock exchanges.

The iShares Bitcoin ETP began trading on March 25 on Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris, according to BlackRock’s product page. The launch follows the success of its iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF), which dominates the US market with $50.7 billion of assets under management, accounting for about 2.73% of the total Bitcoin (BTC) supply.

Stephen Wundke, director of strategy and revenue at crypto investment firm Algoz, told Cointelegraph that “the availability of the iShares Bitcoin ETP may not have the same reaction across Europe” as it saw in the US:

“Quality investment products through regulated asset managers have been more available throughout Europe than in the US, and secondly, Bitcoin is also more easily purchased. […] However, the ability for traditional family offices across Europe to hold a small percentage of their asset base in ‘digital gold’ is no doubt a good thing. […] Just don’t expect $60 billion of purchases in the first quarter.”

Product details and fee structure

The new ETP trades under the IB1T ticker on Xetra and Euronext Paris, while on Euronext Amsterdam it uses BTCN. Bloomberg previously reported that the company was preparing to launch the new product, which followed the firm’s launch of a Bitcoin ETF on CBOE Canada.

BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETP specifics. Source: BlackRock

According to Bloomberg, the product launched with a temporary fee waiver of 10 basis points, which decreases the expense ratio to 0.15% until the end of 2025. Europe’s top crypto ETP is the CoinShares Physical Bitcoin ETP, which currently charges 0.25%, making BlackRock’s offering considerably cheaper while the waiver is in place.

“There is no doubt BlackRock’s aggressive fee structure was designed to keep competitors out of the market and question the commitment of any new entrants,” Wundke said.

Wundke added that “this type of competition is good for investors and ultimately good for digital currencies,” highlighting that players in the market will have to compete to provide the best offering to investors.

Related: ‘Successful’ ETH ETF less perfect without staking — BlackRock

iShares expanding to Europe

This is BlackRock’s first issuance of a crypto ETP outside of North America. Manuela Sperandeo, BlackRock’s head of Europe and Middle East iShares Product, told Bloomberg:

“[This launch] reflects what really could be seen as a tipping point in the industry — the combination of established demand from retail investors with more professionals now really getting into the fold.”

Related: Bitcoin ETFs log first net inflows in weeks, while Ether outflows continue

Ajay Dhingra, head of research at decentralized exchange aggregator Unizen, told Cointelegraph that the move reflects BlackRock’s confidence in the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework:

“From Trump to Biden and now Trump again, US digital asset policy has been largely inconsistent. In contrast, the EU has steadily embraced compliant blockchain adoption — offering the regulatory stability companies are looking for.”

A recent BlackRock earnings report showed that the firm managed over $11.55 trillion on average during the fourth quarter of 2024. Other than the top Bitcoin ETF, the firm also launched its Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF — the top Ether (ETH) ETF, with $3.46 billion in assets under management.

Magazine: EU politician reveals her conversion to crypto — Eva Kaili