Could blockchain technology revitalize mortgagetech?
Blockchain and smart contract technology innovator Symbiont has teamed up with Ranieri Solutions to explore ways to use its smart contract platform to “systematically improve all aspects of the mortgage industry,” according to an announcement today. Ranieri Solutions is a financial services technology investment firm founded by securitized mortgage market pioneer Lewis Ranieri. The firm sees an opportunity to combine its own knowledge and experience in the mortgage market with Symbiont’s innovations in enterprise blockchain networks.
“When Symbiont was founded, it was my dream and vision to develop decentralized technology solutions that could solve the root problems that were at the heart of the financial crisis,” Symbiont CEO Mark Smith said. “Blockchain and smart contract technology is proving to be that solution.” Smith acknowledged Ranieri’s deep history in and beyond mortgage financing, referring to him as “the genius behind modern securitized markets.” He called the partnership a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for himself and a “seminal moment” for Symbiont.
Ranieri said blockchain technology was an opportunity to modernize a region of the financial world that has not kept up with the rest of the industry. “The mortgage market, despite significant efforts, continues to lag behind from a technological standpoint creating inefficiencies that impact mortgage loans throughout their life cycle,” he said. “By partnering with Symbiont, a proven blockchain pioneer, Ranieri Solutions believes that together we can implement this transformative technology to bring necessary efficiencies, transparency, and security to mortgage markets.”
In addition to putting its blockchain-based smart contract technology to work to the improve mortgage market, Symbiont has demonstrated its effectiveness in a variety of use cases. In December, Symbiont partnered with Vanguard and the Center for Research in Security Prices to use blockchain technology to simplify index data sharing between index providers and market participants. Last summer, the company publicly demonstrated how its Symbiont Assembly platform could be used for private equity issuance, and teamed up with PrivateMarket.io to use its SmartSecurities technology to build an alternative investment marketplace for closed-end funds.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York City, Symbiont participated in our developers conference in New York, FinDEVr 2016. The company’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Adam Krellenstein discussed the architecture of Symbiont’s Smart Securities technology in a presentation titled “Distributed Ledgers and Smart Contracts.” Symbiont has raised more than $15 million in funding and includes Celeridem Capital Management and SenaHill Partners among its investors.