Holding a digital asset for four years can feel like an eternity in the cryptosphere. So, how can a Trump-backed DeFi project convince investors to park their capital behind a luxury Maldivian resort that won’t open its doors until 2030?
The answer, according to World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and Saudi real estate developer DarGlobal, is a special “exit mechanism” designed to bridge the gap between meme coin attention spans and the slow-burn reality of international real estate.
The mechanism will be detailed in an upcoming prospectus for the Trump-backed crypto project, which will build 100 beach and overwater villas within the archipelago nation, DarGlobal CEO Ziad El Char said. DecryptAcknowledging that there may be delays.
“We’ve created a structure where if you’re not happy with where it’s going, you can get out,” he said. “And at the same time, […] You’re not earning anything by standing there.”
By tokenizing at the development level—rather than selling pieces of built buildings—WLFI says it’s unlocking higher-margin “development returns” for commercial real estate projects that are typically eaten up by big banks.
The tokens are expected to provide investors with a fixed yield and debt revenue streams generated from $300 million in assets, according to one. Press release. And in the future, tokens may offer certain benefits from income distribution or asset sales.
El Char said DarGlobal is taking extra steps to convey that it has skin in the game. This includes holding a minimum 30% equity stake in the project instead of the 10% usually held by developers in similar settings, he said.
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“All interests are aligned to finish that project and get that resort operational,” he said, noting that the ultra-luxury project’s villa-based design was intentionally “uncomplicated.”
The tokens will be issued in partnership with Securitize using infrastructure designed by the BlackRock-based tokenization specialist. In the press release, CEO Carlos Domingo noted that “real estate has been one of the most difficult asset classes to effectively tokenize.”
In December, Domingo said Decrypt That tokenization might make it easier for someone to invest in foreign assets, but theirs Ability to step out of position has been historically neglected.
“Providing liquidity to an asset class is as important as providing access,” Domingo said. “And there was a perception that tokenization was going to make those liquid assets illiquid, and that didn’t happen, because a liquid asset is illiquid whether you tokenize it or not.”
