The session was an insightful discussion led by Bayo Kusanya and Vernon Jay, focusing on the innovative intersection of real estate and blockchain technology through tokenization. Vernon, a real estate veteran with over 20 years of experience, shared his journey from traditional real estate to leveraging blockchain to democratize ownership and build generational wealth, especially within underserved communities. He explained how tokenizing assets allows fractional ownership, enabling broader community participation in real estate investments, which historically have been limited to accredited investors. The conversation highlighted the creation of Equity Platforms and its new product, Equity Share, which empowers community developers nationwide to crowdfund projects by issuing their own tokens, effectively replacing traditional banking with community-based capital raising. Vernon emphasized the importance of affordable housing, adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings, and the potential impact of blockchain to provide transparent, efficient dividend payments and investor management. The session also tackled systemic inequities in wealth building, the regulatory landscape, and the challenge of gentrification, advocating for community-driven ownership as a solution to preserve and grow neighborhood assets. Overall, the session underscored the transformative potential of combining real estate with blockchain to foster economic inclusion and empower communities to build lasting wealth.
