Possibly the world’s first tokenized church emerges in Colorado.
Gate of Heaven
A network of church groups known as the Colorado House of Prayer has taken an rather unusual step by tokenizing its main chapel to raise the $2.5 million needed to purchase the building.
Pastor Blake Bush, who leads the initiative believes he was divinely inspired to utilize blockchain technology to further the group’s mission.
Per Forbes, Bush and his congregation along with other affiliated church groups, have been renting the building from a local businessperson.
The building, known as Old Stone Church due to its stone exterior, spans 11,457 square feet and was bought by its current owner in 2022 for $2.2 million.
The Colorado House of Prayer now wants to acquire the property for $2.5 million. And here comes the blockchain.
Tokenizing the chapel
Bush claims the idea of tokenizing the building, so basically transforming it into a digital asset that can be divided into digitally transferable shares, came to him during a spiritual experience.
“I heard the Lord say, ‘tokenize the building,’ go get my house.”
To achieve this goal, Bush and his group created Stone Coin, a digital asset designed to help raise funds for purchasing the Old Stone Church.
The coin is linked to a real estate token created by REtokens and operates on the Polymesh private blockchain.
Can we get an amen?
As with any tokenization project, the success of this initiative will depend on the flow of tokens and their market price.
So far, the project has raised about half of its goal and is actively seeking more investors. Right now, there are nothing much information about what the token owners will receive in exchange for their investment.
Looking ahead, the project’s board, which includes Bush, other religious leaders, and the mayor of a nearby town, plans to open token sales to individuals outside the congregation.
While this could theoretically expose the church to an outsider takeover, Bush seems unbothered by the possibility, telling „let’s introduce everyone to Jesus”.
