Mark Cuban Wants To Build New American Cities On Blockchain

“Shark Tank” billionaire investor Mark Cuban on Sunday expressed interest in a transformative crypto real estate project, bringing together smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to drive construction and urban development. 

What Happened: Angel investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, presented an ambitious vision of urban development, “My first act as President is going to be to build 10 new cities in America with one million housing units in each. Completely planned cities with exceptional affordability, walkability, sustainability, and exceptional amenities that bring joy to kids, elders, and the working class supporting them. If MBS can do it in the Kingdom, we can do it in America. We only need the will.”

Cuban responded to the user’s grand plan of building ten new cities across America. The billionaire investor’s proposal involves utilizing a blockchain-based smart contract that operates on a layer-2 scaling solution to ensure privacy and efficiency.

The contract is designed to automatically check for issued construction permits through an oracle — a system that provides external data to the blockchain. Once a permit is verified, the contract generates an NFT that signifies a developer’s right to receive 250k in USDC, a stablecoin, explained Cuban.

“The smart contract will continuously check for construction permits and create a new NFT for each incremental unit to be built.  Correct ?” he tweeted.

Why It Matters: Cuban’s interest in this futuristic intersection between crypto and real estate reflects his advocacy for practical and life-enhancing applications of cryptocurrency beyond investment schemes. 

In an October interview with WIRED, he said, “Crypto has some problems. Most people, when they think crypto, they think speculation. That’s not what crypto’s really about. Crypto is really about creating new applications that make things better and easier. What crypto is missing is that one application that grandma really wants to use.”

Despite his enthusiasm for the sector, Cuban’s journey in the cryptocurrency landscape has faced challenges. In September, a substantial loss struck as he became the victim of a cryptocurrency scam, forfeiting close to $870,000. Caught off guard, Cuban realized the scam only after the disappearance of 5 Ethereum ETH/USD from his wallet, valued at about $8,175 at the time.