Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )
Author | Ethan ( @ethanzhang_web3 )
The 2020 epidemic disrupted many established plans, and also made William Guo see the limitations of the traditional financial system during the promotion of a real estate project. The exploration of combining Web3 with real assets began.
The same disruptive gene has now been integrated into the underlying architecture of PlayEstates . When users receive daily USDC revenue sharing of on-chain properties through PNFT, and when Southeast Asian students subscribe to high-quality American assets with $10, Williams team always smiles at each other in front of the electronic screen in the San Francisco office. These moments make the late-night decision on the verge of bankruptcy four years ago even more precious.
It is this gene of turning crisis into an interface that has attracted more than 10,000 users in the undisclosed marketing stage. Odaily Planet Daily found that the first batch of $350,000 in internal test assets sold out in two and a half weeks, because a large number of young users experienced the shock of being a landlord on the chain for the first time - it turns out that asset accumulation can be visualized like a game task.
In the conversation with founder William Guo, sharp statements such as compliance is the life and death line and liquidity is not a technical problem but a human problem were frequently made. How does this CEO who is trying to implant the Pinduoduo experience into real estate balance the compliance framework of Delaware Series LLC and the gamification design of SocialFi? Can ToC RWA really break through the high walls of traditional finance?
The following is the transcript of an exclusive interview with Odaily Planet Daily, enjoy~
1. The path of “playing”: the evolution from engineer to RWA entrepreneur
Odaily Planet Daily: Can you briefly introduce your background? After working in traditional industries and technology fields, what were your considerations for finally choosing to enter the RWA track?
William Guo: I first worked in engineering and green technology, and later my company was acquired by a large technology company. I then co-founded a fund with my partners, focusing on smart and green buildings. We not only invest, but also participate deeply in the development of some real estate projects. It can be said that we have accumulated a lot of practical experience in real estate from the perspectives of both investors and developers.
When the pandemic broke out in 2020, we encountered a sudden interruption of cash flow while operating multiple projects. The reason was that some overseas investors were unable to enter the country to sign contracts, and the problem of the traditional real estate financing structure being highly dependent on offline processes and intermediary systems was exposed. This structural risk made us start to think: Can we use blockchain technology to digitize and fragment assets, allowing users to complete subscription and circulation directly on the chain?
This idea is naturally in line with the decentralization and transparency and verifiability emphasized by Web3. In 2022, we officially launched the PlayEstates project, focusing on the RWA track, hoping to connect high-quality real estate assets in the United States with global chain users and explore new paths for the digitization of traditional assets.
Odaily Planet Daily: Your background is very diverse, covering hard technology, real estate, venture capital and other fields. How did these experiences affect you in the process of building PlayEstates? Is it reflected in product design or team operations?
William Guo: The greatest value of these diverse backgrounds is that they help me avoid detours when judging directions and making important decisions. They play a key role in compliance and long-term architecture design.
PlayEstates essentially involves asset securitization, so the compliance requirements are very high. I always think that it is extremely dangerous to rashly innovate or try to circumvent the rules when the supervision is not yet fully clear. We hope that the project will be on the right track from day one, rather than waiting until it becomes big to make up for it.
Therefore, when forming a team, I paid special attention to the legal and compliance background. Many core members of the team, including legal advisors, are long-term partners in my previous entrepreneurial or investment experience. We have a high degree of trust and the same ideas. This tacit understanding makes us more efficient, stable and reliable in product structure design, process management and even external docking.
Odaily Planet Daily: The outside world often regards PlayEstates as a real estate version of NFT platform, but in your opinion, what is the most easily overlooked core capability? Will Tokenization-as-a-Service be opened in the future?
William Guo: This is a very common misunderstanding. We do use the NFT model to put assets on the chain, but this is only one of the technical implementation methods at this stage. In the future, we do not rule out the possibility of switching to the FT (homogeneous token) structure based on market feedback and liquidity needs to improve the transaction efficiency and flexibility of the secondary market.
From a more fundamental perspective, our real core capabilities are more than just turning real estate into NFTs. Our strengths are our complete asset acquisition, management, distribution and compliance capabilities, especially in terms of acquisition channels, investment structure and operational experience for real estate assets. Currently, most of the assets on the platform come from our own funds or projects jointly developed with partner family offices, and these resources are not easily replicable.
In addition, our goal is far more than real estate. Although real estate is the most mature and familiar track, we are gradually expanding to other high-yield, compliant and blockchain-capable asset types , such as new energy, oil fields, and mines . These directions have entered the preparation process and will be launched on the platform in the future.
In the long run, we hope that PlayEstates will become a multi-asset supported RWA infrastructure platform rather than a real estate NFT mall. We also plan to gradually open up Tokenization-as-a-Service (TaaS) to serve more institutions and developers who have real assets but lack on-chain tools.
2. Reconstructing real assets with dual tokens: PlayEstates’ model, products and cross-chain ambitions
Odaily Planet Daily: PlayEstates uses the Delaware Series LLC structure and combines NFT to issue real estate assets. In your opinion, what are the core advantages of this structure in terms of compliance and governance?
William Guo: We use the Delaware Series LLC structure, in conjunction with the compliance path of Regulation D and Regulation S, to ensure legal compliance while achieving efficient governance and risk isolation. This structure has been proven effective by early projects such as RealT, and our compliance advisory team is the Resmith Law Firm that participated in the compliance design of RealT.
Each Series corresponds to an independent asset and is legally isolated from each other, which means that even if a project defaults or has liquidity problems, it will not affect other assets, thus fundamentally avoiding systemic risks. At the same time, each asset can be independently operated, declared, and managed, which helps us make a diversified layout.
At the regulatory level, US users participate through the Reg D path and only need to complete KYC certification; overseas users access through the Series Fund established in BVI in compliance with Reg S. This internal and external separation structural design ensures the legitimacy and transparency of real estate assets in the NFT process, and effectively avoids the potential regulatory risks of security-type NFTs.
Odaily Planet Daily: The PNFT + OWND dual-token structure launched by PlayEstates is relatively rare in the RWA track. Can you briefly introduce its design logic and advantages?
William Guo: Our design adopts a dual-token structure of NFT and OWND, with the aim of maximizing user coverage and asset liquidity under the premise of compliance.
NFT is a digital certificate of an asset. After completing KYC, users can use this certificate to obtain daily USDC income; users who have not completed KYC can receive income in the form of OWND tokens, thereby avoiding compliance and tax barriers in some regions. OWND can also be used as a utility token that can be circulated within the platform, with the potential to be listed on exchanges, providing a flexible path for more users to participate.
Compared with the REITs or RealT model, we have made optimizations in two aspects: first, higher liquidity, NFTs can be freely transferred on the platform or other supported NFT markets; second, fewer trading restrictions, avoiding problems such as locking up positions for several months due to compliance in RealT projects, and users can enter and exit the asset market more conveniently.
This structure was designed jointly by us and the compliance consulting team of the worlds top 5 law firms, hoping to provide users with different identity status and regions with an entry that balances security and efficiency.
Odaily Planet Daily: Daily dividends and SAFU funds are a highlight of PlayEstates. What is the operating logic of this mechanism? How to achieve automatic profit distribution in collaboration?
William Guo: Our profit distribution mechanism is essentially the on-chain asset income. The returns on the asset side will be distributed daily in the form of USDC to users holding relevant assets. The benefits of this mechanism are twofold: on the one hand, it improves the transparency of the platform, and all income records can be checked on the chain; on the other hand, it also facilitates future compliance declarations or tax processing.
We regard users who hold NFTs as digital shareholders of assets and receive dividends every day. The entire dividend process is automated, the records are publicly available, and can also serve as on-chain proof of our platforms ability to perform. As AUM grows, we hope to strengthen user trust, especially the confidence of traditional Web2 users.
Odaily Planet Daily: Compared with Ondo, RealT and other projects, what are the key differences of PlayEstates? Especially in terms of ToC participation path and product experience strategy?
William Guo: I think the core challenge of the current RWA track is not the asset chain, but the lack of liquidity on the chain. The technology and compliance paths have gradually matured, but many projects lack real user participation after being put on the chain, and the tokens are form but not spirit.
PlayEstates strategy is to solve the liquidity problem from the source. We do not simply tokenize assets, but introduce the mechanisms of SocialFi and GameFi to allow users to participate in assets during the playing process, improve the interactive experience and transaction frequency. Similar to Pinduoduos use of entertainment to attract user participation, we also hope to provide a sense of accomplishment and stickiness in small investments, thereby building user trust.
Compared with the traditional RWA project that focuses on ToB investment logic, we choose to take the ToC route more firmly. Because we believe: as long as there are users, there will be liquidity; with liquidity, the asset party will naturally access. This model not only reduces intermediary links and improves exit efficiency, but is also more in line with the spirit of Web3 decentralization.
Odaily Planet Daily: Which US real estate agencies, custodians, and payment systems (such as Banxa) has PlayEstates integrated with? What are the most difficult aspects of these integrations?
William Guo: In terms of real estate institutions, first of all, we have our own investment institutions supporting us. Secondly, we have many cooperating family offices in the United States, which can continue to bring us asset packages and contract resources, which is very helpful for the growth of the platforms AUM.
In terms of payment systems, we have now launched multiple on-chain payment service providers including Banxa and MoonPay. We are working with MoonPay to build a complete payment system framework, and in the future we will gradually integrate multiple payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH (Automatic Clearing House), Wire Transfer, etc. to meet the preferences of different users.
At the same time, we are also negotiating cooperation with Customers Bank, a bank in the United States. After the bankruptcy of Circles partner bank, this bank took over many payment resources related to virtual currencies. It currently supports the exchange of 46 currencies with USDC. If the cooperation is reached, it will significantly improve our payment efficiency, reduce the intermediate links for users, and be more conducive to saving costs for users and improving the efficiency of capital use.
During these integration processes, the challenge lies not in technical implementation, but in how to connect multiple systems and services within a compliant framework to ensure a balance among security, user experience and compliance.
3. RWA is not just about compliance and returns: the future asset experience that PlayEstates wants to define
Odialy Planet Daily: In which countries are PlayEstates main users currently distributed? What are the key markets for future growth?
William Guo: Currently our users are mainly concentrated in two regions: the United States and Southeast Asia.
In the United States, most team members, asset holders, and early investors are located locally. Therefore, we have accumulated a group of qualified investors with greater knowledge and resource bases in the United States. They are familiar with local real estate assets and have a stronger willingness to subscribe.
Southeast Asia is another important market for us, especially users from mainland China, Hong Kong and surrounding areas. These users generally have the desire to allocate assets globally and hope to invest local cash or assets more efficiently in high-quality assets in countries such as the United States. However, due to restrictions on channels, information or thresholds, such investment opportunities were not easy to reach in the past.
Our platform can serve as a tool to resolve the information gap, helping them complete asset allocation and achieve indirect holdings of some asset categories that were previously difficult to reach.
In terms of future expansion directions, we will continue to focus on the Southeast Asian market and are also paying attention to opportunities in the Middle East . Especially as some countries open up to the exploration of on-chain assets, we hope to promote more practical implementation in these regions in the future.
Odaily Planet Daily: PlayEstates proposes to help young people accumulate assets. In your opinion, what is the biggest asset dilemma facing Generation Z? How will PlayEstates intervene?
William Guo: I think the biggest dilemma facing Generation Z is that their starting point for assets is too high. The previous generation might have been able to save up for a down payment on a house through hard work, but todays young people have to face soaring housing prices, high inflationary pressure, and rising asset valuations. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to acquire a property or a high-quality asset through their own accumulation.
It is this “entry threshold” problem that we hope to solve. PlayEstates allows users to subscribe to shares of real-world assets starting at $10. Through the “fragmentation” of assets, young people can participate at a low cost and gradually accumulate assets.
Odaily Planet Daily: What do you think of the current mainstream narrative trend of RWA? Is the entry of traditional institutions beneficial to the track?
William Guo: I think this is definitely a good thing. When we first entered this field, most traditional institutions were still watching. Their decision-making process was slow and their response was not that fast. At that time, it was mainly entrepreneurs like us who were exploring and paving this road.
But now we can clearly see the change - these institutions have begun to recognize the direction of RWA and are also making plans. They are now also trying to put some assets on the blockchain, whether as a product issuance or as a channel for asset allocation.
I think this is positive for the entire industry. On the one hand, it is conducive to healthy competition and promotes the entire ecosystem forward; on the other hand, it is also a kind of endorsement for retail investors - they will realize that this track is credible and is also favored by traditional finance. In the end, everyone will choose the platform and asset type that suits them, and PlayEstates is just one of the options.
It is still in the early stages and there is still a lot of room for the market. The participation of institutions will only make this track develop faster and more steadily.
Odaily Planet Daily: What functional iterations will PlayEstates have in the next phase? For example, mobile terminals, DAO governance, or asset auctions?
William Guo: We will launch the mobile app in Q4 this year, and both Android and iOS versions will be launched at the same time. This way, users can more conveniently complete subscriptions, view earnings, or participate in governance on mobile devices.
At the same time, we will also launch the relevant governance mechanisms of DAO in Q4. Because for asset holders, they should have the right to participate in the management of assets, such as whether to sell an asset or how to increase returns. In the future, these will be achieved through voting.
As for derivative functions such as lending and asset portfolio, we are also in the process of advancing compliance, and we are also connecting with some suitable partners. This part may take another two or three quarters to polish.
What we value more now is that we have a responsibility when the money is on the platform. We don’t just collect the money and that’s it, but we hope to make money from the money through better asset design or derivative products, and then give back the benefits to users and investors.
Odaily Planet Daily: Finally, do you think the biggest pain point of the current RWA is compliance or liquidity? In your opinion, what key issues must the next generation of RWA projects solve?
William Guo: These two pain points are actually closely related. Compliance is the foundation. If compliance is not done well, assets on the chain lack legal protection, let alone user trust. Liquidity determines the users willingness and experience to participate. Although many projects are on the chain, due to complicated procedures, difficult exit or high fees, the value of the assets that users finally get is discounted, which is naturally difficult to sustain.
In my opinion, the next generation of RWA projects that truly have long-term potential must address three things simultaneously: compliance, liquidity, and asset quality.
The first is compliance localization . Regulatory requirements vary greatly in different countries, and one solution cannot be used all over the world. PlayEstates adopts a zoning compliance strategy. For example, US users use Reg D, and overseas users access through the BVI architecture to ensure that users in different regions participate within a controllable range.
The second is the liquidity experience . We not only focus on whether the assets can be transferred, but also on whether the entire path of payment, subscription, and exit is smooth. PlayEstates lowers the threshold through the GameFi and SocialFi models, while optimizing the on-chain interaction process and improving participation efficiency.
The third is the asset quality itself . At present, some projects package non-performing assets on the blockchain, which is essentially replacing the shell for financing, which is harmful to both users and the industry. We always insist on only listing real, high-quality assets with clear return structures, and give users the right to enter and exit freely.
These three points are indispensable and truly constitute the moat of the new generation of RWA projects.
