Crypto Religion: Tokenizing the Chapel for Ownership

While a ‘crypto religion’ often makes people run for the hills, a Colorado church is mixing prayer with blockchain to become the first religious institution to become a tokenized church.

A Colorado church is making history by becoming the first religious institution to tokenize its building. The church, Colorado House of Prayer, is aiming to raise $2.5 million to acquire the Old Stone Church through a tokenized offering.

Pastor Blake Bush of the Colorado House of Prayer discovered Ripple Labs' XRP in 2022 and became fascinated by blockchain technology. He began exploring ways to use blockchain to benefit his church and community.

“I heard the Lord say, ‘tokenize the building,'” Bush told reporters. “I've been interested in the technology, but I could not have formed that sentence because that's just not in my vocabulary. I've been praying for this for years, and God said, ‘Son, go get my house.'”

The church has created “Stone Coin,” a digital asset linked to a real estate token on the Polymesh private blockchain, to facilitate the purchase. The building is divided into digital shares through this token, allowing investors to contribute to the purchase.

“I've been praying for this for years, and God said, ‘Son, go get my house,'” Bush said.

The project has already raised approximately half of its goal and is now seeking additional investors. Initially, Stone Coins are being sold to accredited investors for $500 each, with a minimum investment of $50,000.

When asked about the possibility of an outsider takeover in an interview with Coin Telegraph, Pastor Bush joked, “Let's introduce [them] to Jesus.”

The Colorado House of Prayer church is a pioneer in the real-world asset tokenization industry, with a board that includes the local mayor and several ecclesiastical leaders.

Backed by BlackRock, the RWA market is expected to expand rapidly, reaching an astonishing $13 trillion by 2027.

The Colorado House of Prayer is venturing into the realm of blockchain, which may inspire other houses of worship and charities to investigate tokenization.