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What Is YakDAO? A Deep Dive Into Its Role in Tokenizing Real Estate

6 mins
Fact Checked
by May Woods
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YakDAO offers opportunities for average retail investors to gain crypto and real estate exposure via recreational glamping properties. So, how does it work, and is this the start of a broader real estate tokenization movement? Read on to find out in this comprehensive YakDAO guide.

What is YakDAO?

Yak is an eco-friendly, recreational camping site. Campers enjoy luxury camping, also known as glamping. With a location currently in Brevard, North Carolina, Yak has plans to expand to other sites as its platform grows.

Notably, Yak’s camping sites are sustainable. The aim is to positively contribute to the surroundings while minimizing environmental impact as much as possible. As a result, Yak offers a unique and comfortable outdoor experience for those who want to enjoy nature without sacrificing modern amenities and a luxury touch.

YakDAO is a fractionalized investment platform built around Yak services. It is a recreational property decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Anyone can invest in YakDAO to earn profits from Yak.

Team and investors

David Woodbury founded YakDAO and is the current CEO. Woodbury has over 10 years of experience as a C-level executive, creating startups, raising millions in venture funding, and, crucially, building outdoor recreation and property management software.

yakdao team
YakDAO team: Yak.camp

This innovative platform also has a list of notable sponsors and integrations, many of which are recognizable within the crypto and traditional finance (TradFi) spaces. Some of these include:

  • Airbnb
  • Booking.com
  • Camp Native (founded and later sold by Woodbury)
  • Coinbase
  • Dtravel
  • DuckDAO
  • Ferrum Network

How does YakDAO work?

The nexus of the YakDAO platform is the democratized ownership of the recreational properties offered by Yak. This model allows the average retail investor to gain exposure to a traditionally gate-kept process.

The entire investment process begins with the Treasury. YakDAO gathers contributions from community members who receive Yak DAO (YAKS) in return. The DAO purchases unique outdoor recreational properties using the funds collected from the community treasury. YakDAO then develops and maintains these properties for commercial and community use.

The total supply of YAKS is 100,000,000. It is a governance token on the Arbitrum blockchain, which allows customers to take advantage of relatively low fees and fast transaction confirmation times.

Features

There are three primary ways that the YAKS token maintains its value to support the YakDAO ecosystem:

  • Deflation: Each YAKS transaction carries a 1% fee, with 20% burned and 80% added to liquidity staking pools. This deflationary mechanism maintains scarcity throughout time, which increases the value of YAKS.
  • Staking rewards: Holders can stake YAKS tokens to earn more YAKS, which promotes engagement and encourages long-term holding. This approach promotes token retention while reducing circulating supply and simultaneously boosting value.
  • Exclusive benefits: Holding YAKS grants access to special privileges like revenue sharing, discounts, incentives, and governance privileges within the DAO ecosystem. This utility increases token demand and usage, resulting in value appreciation.

30% of the revenue generated by the properties goes into YAKS buybacks to fund staking pools. A percentage will also be used to buy back and burn YAKS, further enhancing the token’s value.

Where we see finance/funds being the barrier to tokenizing all aspects of real world assets, what YakDAO was able to do with real world tangible assets, was to buy a property for a DAO, monetize with short term rentals and create token buybacks tied to DAO revenue. We believe this model is scalable and has many potential use cases.

YakDAO

Stakers will not only earn more YAKS but can also earn NFTs, win free nights at the glamping property, and attend YAK Fest. Furthermore, invitations to the Governance Committee will be extended to top-tier token holders.

How to buy Yak DAO (YAKS)

1. Obtain a web3 wallet: Before purchasing YAKS, you must first obtain a web3 wallet. Download a wallet and follow the instructions to secure it. Login and switch over to the Arbitrum blockchain to begin purchasing YAKS. We’ve used MetaMask in this example.

buy yaks step 1

2. Go to Uniswap: Uniswap is the official decentralized exchange (DEX) earmarked for purchasing YAKS. Any other DEX offering YAKS may be a scam, so it is best only to use official platforms designated by the YaksDAO team.

buy yaks step 2

3. Select the YAKS token: Make sure you are on the Arbitrum blockchain and have some crypto (e.g., ETH) to swap for YAKS. Search for the official Yak DAO token address in the Uniswap search bar.

yakdao step 3

4. Buy Yak DAO (YAKS): Select the amount of YAKS that you would like to purchase. Press confirm. You have officially purchased YAKS and can stake, trade, or participate in YakDAO governance.

yakdao step 4

Advantages of YakDAO

The benefits of YakDAO are clear. It uses real-world assets (RWA) to give back to its community while simultaneously using its community to bootstrap the ecosystem, similar to a feedback loop. This helps to create a sustainable and self-sufficient decentralized organization.

YakDAO ecosystem: Twitter.com
YakDAO ecosystem: X

The project offers a clear roadmap for investors and has thus far (as of May 2024) delivered on its promises. With many big-name investors on board, YakDAO presents a credible offering that aims to return a profit to investors but also build community. Included in the project plans are in-person events, including annual YAK Fest meet-ups, bringing together the Governance Committee and top YAK stakers.

Disadvantages of YakDAO

YakDAO offers a clear opportunity. Its journey from concept to tangible achievements in less than a year since launch demonstrates the strength of the project’s trajectory. However, investors should be aware that crypto investments are high-risk. Tokenization comes with its own barriers, particularly regulatory uncertainty and an education gap.

While the YakDAO project is widening accessibility for investors who may not otherwise consider or be able to invest in property, it must be highlighted that profits are not guaranteed with any investment.

Finally, as of May 2024, the YAKS token can only be traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). While DEXs offer the benefit of anonymity, they are less secure platforms than their centralized counterparts. Moreover, they often offer lower liquidity than CEXs and a steeper learning curve for new users. This may counteract YakDAO’s mission to widen investment accessibility, at least in the short term.

Is tokenization the future of real estate?

Real estate tokenization is set to revolutionize how we invest in and manage real estate assets, making them more accessible and efficient. The $YAK token offers investors a chance to invest in tangible, real-world assets while benefiting from the power of decentralized finance. The project represents one exciting tenet of an overall trend toward the democratization of such investments.

Tokenization offers the sector increased liquidity and transparency, thus making it more accessible to the average person. In all, it’s clear that YAKDAO is at the forefront of an industry poised for massive growth. Remember to always DYOR, and never invest more than you can afford.

Frequently asked questions

Top crypto projects in the US | May 2024

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Ryan Glenn
Ryan Glenn is a journalist, writer, and author. Ryan is motivated to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of web3 and cryptocurrency. He has authored “The Best Book for Learning Cryptocurrency,” and runs an educational platform, web3school.us, dedicated to demystifying the crypto space. Ryan built the platform to transition tech-savvy and non-tech individuals into crypto and give everyone a baseline understanding of the different fields in the cryptosphere. Ryan is also an...
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