How Squarecrows Aims to Bring Real Land Ownership to the Blockchain

We’ve all heard about metaverse real estate, but what about physical land ownership on the blockchain?

A new project aims to bring a fresh angle to NFT utility by blending digital ownership with real-world land rights in Scotland’s Glen Nant National Nature Reserve.

Unlike many NFT projects that promise future value, Squarecrows offers immediate, tangible ownership of souvenir plots in a legally recognized system dating back to 1979. Each NFT corresponds to a 3m x 3m plot, uniquely identified via the What3Words location system.

The project also builds a broader ecosystem around these plots. Holders get access to a dedicated .crow Web3 domain, interactive web games, NFC-enabled keychains, and geocoins for geocaching. Squarecrows is also weaving its releases into an ongoing comic series, adding a narrative element to its drops.

Beyond the collectibles, Squarecrows solves a long-standing issue in Scottish land sales. Historically, souvenir plots couldn’t be resold without the involvement of the original landowner. By recording ownership on the blockchain, the project makes these transfers seamless while keeping the legal framework intact.

Glen Nant’s significance goes beyond its NFT utility—it’s part of Scotland’s rare Atlantic rainforest, a protected habitat. Squarecrows integrates web3 with conservation, offering a way for buyers to claim a stake in a real landscape while participating in a growing digital community.

We caught up with Squarecrows CEO Doug Wilson to learn more.

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Introducing Rum “Maestro” Grant. He wears a hood to discourage social interaction and carries a ladder for no apparent reason. Like all Squarecrows #NFTs, he comes with a REAL 3m x 3m plot of Scottish land you can visit any time.https://t.co/bJIWGIIzRc pic.twitter.com/jLp37R0xUF

— Squarecrows (@SquarecrowsNFT) January 26, 2025

nft now: What inspired Squarecrows, and how does it differ from other NFT projects?

Doug Wilson: I’ve been selling souvenir plot gift packs for 14 years, and during the covid lockdown we had to introduce a ‘digital download’ product because of fulfilment problems.  To my surprise, it became a really popular option!  That got me thinking, and a few years later I couldn’t help but admire the incredible success of Pudgy Penguins. That’s when I started really looking into NFTs and I love their vision for consumer crypto.  I decided to launch Squarecrows in order to combine NFTs with the already popular souvenir plot gift and I really hope we can help onboard some people to Web3.

How does blockchain solve the issue of souvenir plot transfers?

Traditionally, the buyer of a souvenir plot obtains a personal right of ownership through a paper contract of sale between the buyer and seller.  Unfortunately for the buyer in this instance, they cannot transfer their right of ownership to a third party at a later date.  Selling the souvenir plots as NFTs gets around this problem because the ownership rights are essentially tokenised.  Whoever owns the NFT has the personal right of ownership to the souvenir plot, no matter how many times it is transferred.  This is infinitely quicker, cheaper and better than the antiquated system used by the official land registry and it is absolutely clear to me that Scotland’s national register should be on the blockchain.

Why choose Glen Nant, and how do you balance conservation with NFT ownership?

I bought the land in Glen Nant about 5 years ago.  It’s incredibly rare for National Nature Reserve to become available on the private market and I just didn’t want the opportunity to pass me by.  The land itself is beautiful and there are some truly magnificent tree specimens in there. It also has good access for visitors so the Squarecrows project was a good fit for the land from the start.  Who wouldn’t want to own a little part of such a stunning place?  Polygon felt like a good fit for the NFTs because it’s carbon negative and has low gas fees.  I might release future NFTs on a different platform though.

What gives Squarecrows real-world value beyond typical NFTs?

The personal right of ownership to a real 3m x 3m plot of land is a genuine world-first.  We know that tens of thousands of people have visited their little plots of Scotland and I think that Squarecrows NFTs bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds in a fun way. 

Did you know that crows can remember human faces, solve puzzles and use tools?https://t.co/0QbKw7fJFz

— Squarecrows (@SquarecrowsNFT) December 21, 2024

How do the Web3 TLD, games, merch, and comics enhance the community?

The merch is really cool! When you buy an NFT, you’ll be able to download the NFT image from your account.  We have partnered with Printful so you can get your NFT image printed onto mugs, t-shirts, wall prints and other cool stuff.  The comics are there to explain the Squarecrows story (spoiler: the Squarecrows are flightless because of an ancient curse, and they’re on a journey to break the curse and regain the power of flight).  Each chapter of the story will be celebrated with a release of NFTs.  The web3 TLDs are for our top-tier enthusiasts and the games are there just to keep people interacting with the brand.

What legal rights do buyers get, and how does this differ from land ownership?

Legally, our company remains as the registered landowner and NFT owners obtain a personal right of ownership to their souvenir plot of land.  Usually, being the registered landowner would allow us to do things like apply for planning permission, plant trees or install access paths.  NFT owners can’t do any of those things, but neither can we because the land is rightly covered by really strict rules about its management and conservation.  The future of the land is guaranteed by law.

“Legally, our company remains as the registered landowner and NFT owners obtain a personal right of ownership to their souvenir plot of land. “

DOUG WILSON

What’s next for Squarecrows—expansion, new features, or other innovations?

We’re going to create an online community with NFT-gated access.  I want NFT ownership to unlock all kinds of benefits, but we need the community to grow first.  We’re actively hiring for that position, so if you think you can grow an online community please get in touch!  We have a decision to make about what chain to launch the next batch of NFTs on.  There’s a lot happening on Solana right now but our project really aligns with the vision of Abstract.  Oh, and there will be plushies or my kids will never forgive me!