By Catherine Sweeney
NOYACK Logistics Income, a branch of NOYACK Capital, is making big waves in the commercial real estate industry, becoming the first real estate investment trust to accept cryptocurrency. Through a partnership with crypto payment service provider BitPay, investors will now be able to purchase a share in the company with the coin of their choice.
“Alternative investment firms and REITs have not embraced cryptocurrency, and we are changing that narrative. We see it as an essential way to connect with today’s investors who include investment real estate and cryptocurrency in their retirement accounts, such as Roth IRAs and 401(k)s,” CJ Follini, managing principal of NOYACK Capital, said.
Through the partnerships, buyers will be able to utilize a variety of cryptocurrency to invest in real commercial assets. These include many popular crypto options, such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Wrapped Bitcoin and many others.
According to NLI, the goal is to make investing in the company as easy and accessible for all buyers, giving them the ability to invest in private commercial real estate directly through a mobile device. Additionally, investors will be able to use cryptocurrency to acquire shares, but they will also be able to divide investments between crypto and traditional funding options.
“For any investor looking to redeploy crypto gains into dividend-producing investments, our partnership with BitPay makes it a reality and a seamless transaction,” Follini said.
In general, NOYACK Capital has been setting its eyes toward the future, forming the REIT at the end of 2021. NOYACK Logistics Income is a $200 million real estate investment trust investing in diversified supply chain real estate supporting the digitization of the U.S. economy.
NLI focuses on four commercial real estate asset classes that have recently become more popular investment options. These include life sciences, temperature-controlled and dry storage warehouses, healthcare facilities and mobility hubs, a property type that combines structured parking with amenities like driverless car portals, electric vehicle charging, package lockers, ghost kitchens and grocery cold storage.
“Our focus on mobility hubs and other future-forward logistics infrastructure is driven by our point of view that these logistics assets are undervalued relative to the market maturity of ecommerce and that they offer asymmetric risk–reward potential,” Follini said.
According to the company, these ideas will further be enhanced through its partnership with BitPay. The company, which was founded in 2011, is one of the oldest cryptocurrency payment platforments to date. The company has offices throughout North America, Europe and South America and has gained traction over the years, raising more than $70 million in funding from major investment firms. These include Founders Fund, Index Ventures, Virgin Group and Aquiline Technology Growth.
According to BitPay, cryptocurrency is continuing to grow in popularity, with the company seeing 70,906 transactions per month on average. Bitcoin remains the popular choice among Bitpay’s users. As of March of 2022, the company reported 56.7 percent of its users prefer Bitcoin, followed by Ethereum at just 11.7 percent.
In general, research from CoinDesk suggests that 2021 was a major year for cryptocurrency, with both retail and institutional investors beginning to utilize it more frequently. This has caused the cryptocurrency market capitalization to grow 185 percent during 2021, from $773 billion to $2.2 trillion.
Throughout the United States, cryptocurrency is being used more frequently as a form of payment. Approximately 16 percent of Americans, or about 40 million, are using cryptocurrency. In March, the United States government also signed an executive order to regulate cryptocurrency activities, further showing strength in its frequent usage. As cryptocurrency becomes more widely accepted, NLI anticipates it will continue to grow in the commercial real estate space as well.
“Recent disruption and technological advances have identified new values we see driving the potential for superior returns,” Follini said. “Our proprietary market analytics look beyond the needs we know about for today’s last mile. They anticipate next-mile imperatives for real estate agile enough to adapt to cultural shifts and new technology.”
