By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Privately held Texas homebuilder Megatel Homes LLC said on Thursday it will start issuing a crypto payments and rewards token.
The announcement came after the Securities and Exchange Commission sent Dallas-based Megatel a "no-action" letter late Thursday, effectively allowing the company to go ahead.
The "MegPrime" token is Megatel's first foray into digital assets, said Megatel Chief Executive Officer Zach Ipour.
Traditional companies are increasingly
integrating blockchain technology into mainstream consumer programs. President Donald Trump's crypto-friendly SEC has also made companies more comfortable venturing into the sector.
The MegPrime tokens, which the company will start issuing in coming weeks, will be marketed solely as a means of making payments and earning rewards – and not as investments, the company said.
Consumers will be able to spend the token with regular merchants via a digital wallet and payment card. In return, they can earn rebates, paid in additional MegPrime tokens, discounted gift cards and points that can be redeemed for housing-related benefits, the company said.
The token is an extension of the company's 2019 program that gave renters an amount equal to their past year's rent for use as equity for a home purchase, Ipour said.
"Since we have a multi-billion dollar operation building homes and we are involved in financing the homes, we believe we can perfect this model and take it to the next level, merging real estate activity with the benefit of digital currencies," Ipour told Reuters in a phone interview.
Token holders have no rights associated with security ownership, such as voting rights or the right to receive profit distributions.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Michelle Price and Cynthia Osterman)
