How cryptocurrency is funding a facelift for Great Keppel Island

Australian island Great Keppel Island is set for a tech rejuvenation, backed by blockchain technology and the sale of its own coin offering.

Through a security token offering (STO), investors will be able to purchase Great Keppel Island tokens (GKT tokens), each worth one billionth of the island.

Tim Sommers, founder of Royalti Blockchain Group and co-founder of the Great Keppel Island project, tells StartupSmart the idea came to light when he saw that Tower Holdings, the group that owns the island, was selling it.

Sommers approached the group and suggested tokenising the asset instead, he says.

Royalti was looking for an “asset tokenisation” project in the blockchain space, as opposed to utility tokenisation, which he calls “a fad”.

While typical crypto tokens — usually issued through an initial coin offering (ICO) — represent “a product or service that may never come to market”, asset-backed tokens mean there is “something concrete to fall back on”, Sommers says.

“We identified a fairly run down island with the opportunity to turn it into something magnificent,” he adds.

The initial token sale is pegged to raise $300 million to fund a new commercial airport, hotel, marina and 18-hole golf course designed by Aussie legend Greg Norman. Read more

Stephanie Palmer-Derrien - SmartCompany - 5 September 2018