BlockInvest, the start-up that is bringing blockchain technology to institutional services, announces the closure of a new investment round, reserved and entirely subscribed by Crédit Agricole Italia.
The BlockInvest solution, is a blockchain-based platform designed for financial institutions and market participants. It allows you to digitize the process of issuing and selling real assets such as real estate, bonds and/or portfolios of Non Performing Loan (Secured, Unsecured) by designing sophisticated tokens on Ethereum’s public Blockchain, capable of representing the tokenized financial instrument. BlockInvest also enables its clients to expand their investor base globally, in a transparent, liquid environment with an unparalleled level of security.
This initiative represents the first investment by Crédit Agricole in an Italian start-up, as well as the confirmation of the growing interest by institutional stakeholders in blockchain technology and its possible applications in the financial field.
For BlockInvest, already resident in Le Village by CA Milano, the innovation hub of the Crédit Agricole Group instead represents the first step towards a collaboration that goes beyond the simple use of the platform. A step in line with the Company’s goal of expanding to international markets and investing in the development of disruptive solutions in the emerging world of decentralized finance.
Following this investment round, Crédit Agricole became the company’s second shareholder Realhouse S.r.l., owner of the brand and platform.
BlockInvest was assisted by ELLED – Scordino De Bellis as legal advisor, with a team coordinated by lawyer Daniela de Bellis.
“This operation makes us particularly proud, because it is the consolidation of a relationship that began several months ago, but especially the beginning of a new path in a sector that will see an exponential growth in the upcoming years, in which, thanks to the support of the Group, we want to be protagonists in Europe”, declares Lorenzo Rigatti, co-founder and CEO of BlockInvest.
“The investment in BlockInvest is tangible proof of the commitment that Crédit Agricole has undertaken in the recent years as part of Open Innovation, as well as an additional step within the path of creation in a collaborative ecosystem, which sees as its fulcrum the project Le Village. In detail, the collaboration with BlockInvest will allow the Group to have control on a technology such as blockchain, which will play a key role in the evolution of economic, monetary and financial systems”, declares Andrea Riva, Head of Capital Market and Open Innovation of Crédit Agricole Italia.
About Crédit Agricole Italia
Crédit Agricole Group, the 10th largest bank in the world with 10.9 million members, is present in 48 countries including Italy, its second domestic market. Here it operates with all business lines: from commercial bank, to consumer loans, from corporate & investment banking to private banking and asset management, up to insurance and services dedicated to large assets. The collaboration between the sales network and business lines guarantees a wide and integrated operation of 5.2 million active customers, through 1,600 sales points and over 17,500 employees, with a growing support for the economy amounting to 93 billion euros of funding.
About BlockInvest
A fast growing fintech start-up based in Milan, founded by professionals from the Blockchain, Real Estate and Finance sectors. Just two years after its foundation, the company has already been the protagonist of the first tokenization experiments in Italy, both in the real estate sector and in the non-performing credit sector. In addition, recently, the BlockInvest platform has operated as a technological partner in the issuance of some of the first green bonds tokenized in Europe.
Photo by Fernando Meloni on Unsplash
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