A church group in Colorado, known as the Colorado House of Prayer, has turned to blockchain technology to buy a chapel worth $2.5 million.
Under the leadership of Pastor Blake Bush, the group has tokenized the building, converting it into a digital asset to make the purchase process easier.
The chapel, called the Old Stone Church, is an 11,457-square-foot building that the group has been renting. The current owner, a businessperson who also runs a car dealership, bought the building in 2022 for $2.2 million.
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Pastor Bush told Forbes that the decision to use blockchain was inspired by a spiritual experience, describing:
I heard the Lord say, "tokenize the building."
To raise the needed funds, the group created a digital currency called "Stone Coin." This token, backed by real estate, runs on the Polymesh private blockchain.
The project's success depends on attracting enough investments and maintaining the value of the tokens. Having raised about half their goal, they're now looking for more investors, including those beyond their religious community.
Opening token sales to non-members has sparked concerns about outsiders gaining control over the asset. However, when asked about the possibility of groups with opposing beliefs, like Satanists, buying tokens, Bush replied:
Let's introduce you to Jesus.
The Colorado House of Prayer's decision to tokenize the chapel shows how modern technology can be used to achieve spiritual goals.
In other news, in June, Galaxy Digital and the co-founder of Animoca Brands tokenized a 1708 Stradivarius Violin.