Sky’s the limit: Revolutionising real estate with air rights
SkyTrade parcels low-altitude air rights property with blockchain-powered smart contracts, enabling the air rights to be rented, bought, or sold with the owner's permission, to gain income. The photo shows a residential neighborhood in Oakwood, a small city in Montgomery County, Ohio, USA. Photo: iStock
When Jonathan Dockrell, an Irish entrepreneur moving between his native Dublin, UK and US, began exploring the potential of low-altitude airspace, he unearthed a transformative opportunity.
Today, his ground-breaking company, SkyTrade, is pioneering the tokenisation of air rights — a venture set to redefine real estate, drone technology, and international economic collaboration.
“Marketplaces have always fascinated me,” Dockrell explains. “Their potential to create entirely new value chains is immense. When I started looking into air rights, I realized we were sitting on an untapped goldmine.”
With operations spanning Ireland, London, and the United States, SkyTrade bridges continents, leveraging the unique strengths of each to drive innovation.
Dockrell’s career began in London’s vibrant tech scene. He honed his skills at Deliveroo and Free Now, two major marketplace platforms, where he learned how to scale businesses and design incentives.
“I loved the mechanics of marketplaces,” Dockrell recalls. “But as I started looking into drones, I kept asking, ‘Why aren’t these things everywhere?’ The technology was there, but the problem lay in the airspace itself.”
His search for solutions led him to Y Combinator’s Startup School, where he met his co-founder, an experienced cryptocurrency engineer. Together, they realized blockchain’s potential to tokenize air rights and create a digital marketplace.
At its core, the company enables property owners to monetize their unused airspace. By tokenizing air rights—converting them into blockchain-based digital assets—Dockrell’s team has opened up a wealth of possibilities.
“Air rights are an invisible but incredibly valuable asset,” Dockrell says. “Tokenizing them allows property owners to trade or lease them without the complexities of traditional real estate transactions.”
The platform has captured the interest of both real estate developers and drone operators. For drones, the marketplace provides a way to access private airspace for deliveries. For real estate investors, it offers the ability to speculate on airspace in high-growth urban areas without purchasing physical property.
While Dockrell’s company is headquartered in the United States, his Irish roots play a significant role in its success.
“Ireland is where I’m from, and its connection to the US has been incredibly beneficial,” Dockrell says. “There’s a natural synergy between Irish entrepreneurs and American markets.”
The United States was an obvious choice for scaling the business. Air rights are deeply embedded in American real estate, particularly in major cities like New York and Chicago. Moreover, the decentralised regulation of low-altitude airspace by states creates unique opportunities for expansion.
“In the US, air rights are a multi-billion-dollar market,” Dockrell explains. “And since individual states manage low-altitude airspace, we can adapt our playbook to each jurisdiction. It’s an ideal environment for scaling.”
Dockrell remains committed to maintaining an Irish presence. His company has an Irish subsidiary and plans to expand local operations in the future.
“Ireland has strategic advantages that we can’t ignore,” Dockrell says. “Its common law system aligns well with our platform, and its corporate tax structure makes it a great base for European expansion.”
Dockrell is also passionate about fostering Irish talent.
“We’ve interviewed Irish candidates for marketing roles and would love to build a team here,” he says. “It’s not just about business — it’s about contributing to the Irish tech ecosystem.”
The company’s early development was shaped by Dockrell’s collaboration with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia. “Their research on air rights was eye-opening,” he explains.
“It framed airspace as a resource states could monetize, much like spectrum sales in telecom.”
Through Mercatus, the company secured a grant from the Emergent Ventures program, which provided the resources to develop a proof-of-concept.
“Emergent Ventures gave us the freedom to experiment,” Dockrell says. “That grant led directly to our MVP, which caught the attention of the Solana Foundation.”
The Solana Foundation, a major player in blockchain, provided a $70,000 grant to refine the MVP in 2023.
Dockrell recalls: “Once we had the MVP, real estate developers started reaching out, eager to list their air rights. That validation was a turning point for us.”
In 2024, the company raised its first pre-seed funding round, attracting prominent crypto venture funds and angel investors. The initial valuation of $8 million grew to $30 million by the end of 2024, driven by market enthusiasm for the platform’s potential.
Dockrell plans to launch a native token that will integrate into the platform, facilitating transactions and incentivizing participation.
“The token is essential for creating a self-sustaining ecosystem,” Dockrell explains. “It will enable everything from air rights trading to data insights for zoning and drone activity.”
The platform has already made a splash in the real estate and drone sectors. Real estate developers are trading air rights on the platform, while drone operators are using it to secure delivery routes.
“Some developers were so excited about the concept that they listed their air rights before we even had a fully functional product,” Dockrell says. “That enthusiasm has pushed us to innovate faster.”
The company has also launched an app that detects drone signals, rewarding users with tokens.
“We’re building tools that complement the marketplace,” Dockrell explains. “It’s about creating a comprehensive ecosystem for managing airspace.”
Dockrell is particularly inspired by the success of other Irish innovators. Many have received funding from the same Mercatus grant program, showcasing Ireland’s potential as a hub for entrepreneurial talent.
“There’s a wave of Irish entrepreneurs making their mark globally,” Dockrell says. “The support networks between Ireland and the US are incredible, and I want to see more Irish talent breaking into international markets.”
As Dockrell’s company continues to scale, its transatlantic roots remain central to its identity.
“Our focus is on scaling in the US, but Ireland will always be a part of our story,” Dockrell says. “It’s the bridge that connects us to Europe and beyond.”
Dockrell envisions a future where tokenized air rights become a mainstream asset class.
“This isn’t just about drones or real estate — it’s about creating a new economic frontier,” he says. “The possibilities are endless, and we’re just getting started.”
With a vision that spans continents and industries, Jonathan Dockrell is proving that the sky is no longer the limit—it’s the beginning.
