RealToken liquidates $140M portfolio after Detroit housing lawsuit

RealToken announced the liquidation of its $140 million portfolio in July 2026 after Detroit sued the company over housing violations.

"RealToken paid investors from properties that were vacant or that they didn't even own," the Wall Street Journal said in an eight-month investigation of the company's operations in Michigan and Ohio.

The company bought more than 700 properties across the US using limited liability companies and sold shares, or tokens, in those companies exclusively to foreign investors using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Detroit properties made up 75 percent of RealToken's US portfolio. Thousands of global investors now have their money stuck in these tokens with little to no recourse, the Journal found.

The collapse of RealToken, founded by brothers Remy and Jean-Marc Jacobson in 2019, undermines confidence in the real-world asset tokenization model, where blockchain technology is used to represent ownership of physical properties. The case raises questions about whether tokenized real estate can overcome the operational challenges of maintaining physical assets across multiple jurisdictions.

The City of Detroit sued RealToken and the Jacobsons in July 2025, alleging violations of local housing regulations. The city's complaint included exhibits showing dilapidated conditions — standing sewage in basements, black mold on walls, crumbling infrastructure — which it called harmful to public health and safety.

Over eight months, the Journal combed through public records and financial documents. It found that not only were hundreds of homes in disrepair, but that RealToken paid investors from properties that were vacant or that they did not even own.

The company's Detroit portfolio — 75 percent of its US holdings — was at the center of the legal action. The city issued correction orders in September 2022, November 2023, and April 2026 due to code violations, according to the lawsuit. RealToken owed $4,200 in fines and $1,331 in inspection and registration fees.

The Jacobsons said they wanted to revolutionize the real estate industry when they launched RealToken in 2019. Instead, the company's collapse leaves thousands of foreign investors with illiquid tokens and no clear path to recover their funds.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.