--- title: "Blockchain Slumlord Startup Implodes in Real Time" description: "A highly controversial blockchain real estate platform is collapsing, prompting Detroit housing authorities to take action." date: "2026-03-20" modified: "2026-03-20" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/detroit-blockchain-realt-collapse" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" --- # Blockchain Slumlord Startup Implodes in Real Time ![A large yellow Bitcoin coin with circuit-like details is positioned behind a pile of small red bricks. The background features an orange grid pattern on the upper half and a solid bright pink color on the lower half.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* If you're not a renter in Detroit, you might not have heard about RealT, a startup that allows crypto bros to buy up blockchain-based ownership shares of rental properties in downtrodden cities. The scheme works on a fractional ownership model, in which each property is split into "tokens" to be organized like cryptocurrency on the blockchain. Last year, stories of the [deplorable conditions]() of these rentals began circulating [courtesy of *Outlier Media*](), which found that leaky roofs, black mold, and busted air conditioners were common conditions at RealT properties. Now, the chickens seem to be coming home to roost. According to [new reporting by *Outlier*](), the Florida-based RealT has stopped nearly all weekly payouts to token holders — the platform's crypto investors — as its Michigan division, New Detroit, faces tax forfeiture of over 300 Detroit properties. That, it seems, is due to millions of dollars it owes the city in unpaid taxes, water fees, and over 1,000 blight citations. "The model no longer works," read an email from RealT to investors obtained by *Outlier*. On top of emergency repairs and property management staff, RealT is struggling to cover even the most basic operating costs, grinding daily function**s** to a halt. As a result, the company's collection of derelict buildings has gone from rough to downright dangerous. In a statement to the Detroit-based publication, RealT attorney Andrew Creal blamed the city for the collapse. "Due to the City's actions, including but not limited to, barring evictions and the direct collection of rent for nearly eight months at the outset of the lawsuit, we had to trim the staff," he said. "This was by no means our goal when New Detroit was created, but the City’s actions left us no choice." A sprawling [investigation by *Wired*]() reveals how RealT's breakdown translates to real life conditions for tenants, who have to deal with flooded basements, collapsed ceilings, and broken windows. Though traded at bargain-bin prices, their homes are still tokenized somewhere on the blockchain. "Honestly, I probably shouldn't live here, but I'm trying to find somewhere else," a woman named Maya told *Wired*. She lives at a RealT property in the Detroit suburb of Redford, where a huge, leaking hole in the ceiling reveals the rafters holding her roof up. "This place is literally a slum." As civil counsel for Detroit Conrad Mallett told *Wired*, city inspectors have "found thousands of violations" across RealT's Motown properties. "We concluded, in most cases, people were living in substandard housing." That has resulted in a [sprawling nuisance abatement lawsuit]() against the company, putting a dent in RealT's ability to sell off parts of its portfolio to recoup costs. By the time that trial, scheduled for May 27, comes to order, RealT may no longer be solvent — a contingency Detroit housing authorities are planning for. "The city has a workable plan that would be able to effectuate the repairs needed to these properties," a spokesperson told *Outlier*, "whether or not RealT continues to exist." **More on blockchain:** *[Crypto Market Descending Into Chaos]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()