What is Courtyard?
Courtyard stores physical collectibles (trading cards, sneakers, watches, etc.) in secured vaults, creates 3D representations of these assets, and mints them on the blockchain as Connected Collectible NFTs (non-fungible tokens). We have partnered with Brink's (world leader in secure transportation and storage of valuable assets) to store these collectibles.
Users have the option to:
Trade their NFT on any compatible marketplace (e.g. OpenSea).
Hold their valued collectibles as NFTs and connect with other collectors.
Burn their NFT to redeem the underlying asset. Courtyard will ship redeemed collectibles to 150+ countries using Brink's global infrastructure.
We make it simple to leverage the blockchain to open up new ways of owning and trading physical assets. This brings additional value and liquidity to the collectibles market:
We remove the friction of authenticating a valuable asset at each transaction. Collectibles (e.g. watches) are often sold through 3rd party intermediaries that authenticate and provide trust in exchange for a commission. Courtyard removes the need to go through those intermediaries at each transaction.
Geography is a limiting factor when it comes to buying and selling collectibles. Shipping and import/custom fees can make it prohibitive for collectors to trade. Additionally, shipping items creates added risk for damaging or losing the asset. Packaging and insurance add additional cost. Through the blockchain, those assets can now be traded globally within seconds, without having to be moved from their secure location.
Collectors will be able to display their collections online to the world, instead of leaving it at home or in their personal vault. This will not only increase visibility of available assets on the market but also foster deeper interactions between collectors around their collection. We expect to see communities of verified collectors emerge (e.g. owner of X watch model, etc.) and are already seeing this happen in our Discord.
Increased liquidity of physically backed NFTs, combined with secure centralized storage improve the conditions for collateralized lending. Users will soon be able to borrow money at low interest rates with their Courtyard NFT as collateral, and generate additional utility from their collection.
Last modified 8mo ago