Transaction description
First full tokenization of a premium hotel in the EU – 25hours Hotel in Hamburg Transaction description In 2023, 100% ownership of the Hamburg-based 25hours Hotel (a premium boutique hotel brand) was tokenized. The total transaction volume amounted to approx. EUR 45 million, making it the largest real estate tokenization in Europe to date. By comparison, previous projects such as the tokenization of a hotel in Paris by Mata Capital amounted to EUR 26 million (How Tokenization of Physical Assets Enables the Economy of Everything?). The tokenization of 25hours was groundbreaking because it involved the entire hotel, not just part of it, as was the case in previous experiments. Both institutional and individual investors participated in the investment. Approximately 60% of the token pool was acquired by institutional investors (e.g. funds or companies), while the remaining 40% went to retail investors through the Swarm Markets platform. (The exact proportions of investor participation were not disclosed in official communications; the 60/40% figures are based on industry reports.)
The tokenization was carried out in the form of security tokens issued on the Polygon blockchain. The choice of Polygon (a network compatible with Ethereum, but cheaper and more efficient) enabled the asset to be smoothly introduced into the DeFi ecosystem. As stated in the Swarm announcement, the issued asset tokens are fully backed by a real asset and available on the Polygon blockchain to both institutional and retail investors (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). The tokens representing the hotel can be stored in investors' private crypto wallets, which means independent control over the asset 24/7 (without custodial intermediaries) and the possibility of peer-to-peer trading on decentralized markets. In parallel, the Swarm platform provided regulatory compliance (in accordance with German BaFin requirements) and KYC/AML mechanisms, combining the advantages of traditional financial infrastructure with DeFi (Crypto AM SPOTLIGHT on Swarm Markets: Paving the way for tokenization of real-world assets – City AM). As a result, the hotel's tokens could be listed and traded on a decentralized exchange 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, automated by smart contracts, while maintaining regulatory oversight (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain) (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). DeFi integration also means that token holders have immediate liquidity – they can sell their shares on the secondary market or exchange them for other digital assets without traditional intermediaries. Importantly, Swarm created permissioned DeFi – a decentralized trading platform with user verification – so that trading in hotel tokens was decentralized but compliant, which was crucial for participants' trust (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain
The tokenization of 25hours Hotel attracted a mixed group of investors. The core (approx. 60%) were institutional entities – probably professional industry investors or real estate funds interested in an innovative form of asset ownership. The rest went to individual investors through the Swarm Markets platform, which allows retailers to access tokenized securities after passing the KYC procedure. This setup corresponds to the model adopted by Swarm in previous offerings – such as the tokenization of Tesla or Apple shares – where the issuance on Polygon was open to both institutional and retail investors with no minimum entry threshold (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). This ensured a wide distribution of tokens – institutions could invest large amounts of capital, providing the financial basis for the project, while “small” investors could purchase fractional parts of the hotel (e.g. in the hundreds of euros), which was previously virtually impossible. Swarm Markets acted as a platform for the issuance and trading of these tokens, ensuring that all participants are regulated and that trading takes place within the framework of the supervised DeFi protocol. It should be noted that the specific 60/40% split data did not appear in the official press releases, which indicates that the transaction was a private placement with selected partners, while also allowing the community of registered Swarm users to participate. Despite the lack of detailed public reports, the very fact that both institutions and retail investors participated has been confirmed - this is in line with the tokenization mission of democratizing access to real estate investments through the division into digital shares (How Tokenization of Physical Assets Enables the Economy of Everything?).
One of the groundbreaking aspects of tokenizing a hotel on the blockchain is the possibility of using these tokens as financial assets in the DeFi ecosystem, e.g. as collateral for loans. In the traditional model, the holder of a share in a hotel or real estate fund could not easily pledge it for credit - this would require complicated legal procedures. However, tokens, which are a digital representation of ownership, can be provided as collateral in lending protocols: the holder of 25hours tokens could potentially deposit them on a decentralized lending platform and in return borrow stablecoins (such as USDC or DAI). Tokenization of real estate thus opens a “new era” of using real assets as collateral in DeFi (How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transak | Transak). In other words, thanks to fractional tokens representing a hotel, an investor can unlock the value previously frozen in real estate, gaining liquidity without having to sell it. Industry analysts emphasize that tokenized real estate opens up completely new possibilities in the context of DeFi lending – property owners can transfer part of the value of their assets to the blockchain and use them as collateral for a loan (How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transak | Transak). In the case of the 25hours hotel tokens, their presence on Polygon and compliance with ERC standards means that they can technically be integrated with existing DeFi protocols (after meeting any regulatory requirements of these protocols). Although no specific lending partnerships were announced at the time of issuance, the Swarm platform clearly communicates that RWA (Real-World Assets) tokens can serve as new forms of collateral - for example, for the issuance of stablecoins, liquidity management of corporate treasuries or the construction of diversified portfolios (Swarm - The gold standard for blockchain-based finance). The vision is that, for example, stablecoin issuers or liquidity managers can hold tokens of such a hotel as a low-volatile, profitable asset and issue their liabilities on that basis (instead of relying solely on volatile cryptocurrencies) (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). Similarly, in the future, hotel tokens could be added to protocols such as Aave or MakerDAO as part of the collateral pool (these decisions require the approval of their communities and the legal framework, but the trend is already there - Maker and other platforms are starting to accept tokenized real-world assets). Thus, 25hours tokens carry not only equity rights (e.g. to hotel profits), but also financial functionality: they can be included in DeFi transactions, loans, and even be turned into liquid investment products. This illustrates a broader shift – real assets are entering DeFi, increasing the range of available collateral and reducing the ecosystem's dependence on highly volatile cryptocurrencies (How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transak | Transak).
The tokenization of the 25hours Hotel in Hamburg was a milestone for both the real estate industry and blockchain technology in Europe. The Polygon network was used to create digital shares in a real asset, which provided immediate liquidity and integration with DeFi while maintaining full collateralization of the tokens with the underlying asset (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). The 45 millionth transaction was jointly financed by institutional and individual investors (via Swarm Markets), demonstrating the drive to democratize investments in assets previously only available to large players (How Tokenization of Physical Assets Enables the Economy of Everything?). Thanks to tokenization, hotel shares have become portable and divisible, and token holders can enjoy the benefits of DeFi – such as 24/7 trading and borrowing against token collateral (How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transak | Transak). Although not all details of the transaction are public (e.g. the exact investor structure was only communicated to a limited group), the available sources confirm its groundbreaking nature. 25hours in Hamburg became the first premium hotel in the EU to be fully transferred to the blockchain, paving the way for further tokenization projects for commercial real estate in compliance with regulations. This transaction proved that blockchain can revolutionize the real estate market by increasing its liquidity and accessibility while introducing real assets to the world of decentralized finance (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain) (How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transaction).
Finyear – “Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain” (announcement about the launch of tokenization of stocks and bonds by the Swarm platform, February 2023) (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain) (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). It contains information about the use of the Polygon network, compliance with German regulations and enabling 24/7 investment in tokens secured by real assets for both institutional and retail investors.
101blockchains - “How Tokenization of Physical Assets Enables the Economy of Everything?” (analysis of the tokenization concept, 2022) (How Tokenization of Physical Assets Enables the Economy of Everything?). Among other things, he mentions the tokenization of a hotel in Paris (€26 million) as the largest in Europe before 2023, which underlines the scale of the 25hours transaction (€45 million). He also discusses the advantages of tokenization in general (e.g. wider investor access, lower entry threshold).
Transak (blog) – “How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans?” (artykuł o tokenizacji realnych aktywów w kontekście DeFi, 2023) (<a href="https://transak.com/blog/how-rwa-tokenization-unlocks-decentralized-loans" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">How RWA Tokenization Unlocks Decentralized Loans? | Transak | Transak</a>). Wyjaśnia, że tokenizacja nieruchomości otwiera nowy rozdział dla zabezpieczeń pożyczek w DeFi, bo pozwala użyć tokenów reprezentujących np. budynki jako collateral. Potwierdza to koncepcję wykorzystania tokenów hotelu jako zabezpieczenia pod pożyczki.
CityAM – “Crypto AM Spotlight on Swarm Markets: Paving the way for tokenisation of real-world assets” (wywiad z twórcami Swarm, czerwiec 2023) (<a href="https://www.cityam.com/crypto-am-spotlight-on-swarm-markets-paving-the-way-for-tokenisation-of-real-world-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto AM SPOTLIGHT on Swarm Markets: Paving the way for tokenisation of real-world assets – City AM</a>). Opisuje misję Swarm jako łączenie tradycyjnych finansów z DeFi dzięki tokenizacji realnych aktywów. Podkreśla regulowane podejście Swarm (licencja BaFin) i cele wprowadzenia realnych papierów wartościowych na blockchain.
Swarm website (newsroom) – official information material of the Swarm platform (Swarm – The gold standard for blockchain-based finance) (Swarm launches world-first tradable stocks and bonds on chain). They point out, among other things, that RWA tokens can serve as new collateral (e.g. for the issuance of stablecoins or in treasury management), which corresponds to the idea of using hotel tokens in DeFi applications (securing loans, increasing capital efficiency).
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