Paying for your everyday things with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is becoming a reality, with a few hundred thousand merchants worldwide accepting cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment method. Among big players, we find Wikipedia, Microsoft, Dell, and the adult entertainment giant MindGeek, to name a few.
Cryptocurrency purchases are even entering the real estate market, with already a few documented cases of people selling their property in exchange for cryptocurrencies. To date, most of real-estate crypto transactions involve services like BitPay, which converts cryptocurrencies into conventional fiat money. One such example includes a Lake Tahoe property that sold in 2014 for 2,739 bitcoins or $1.6 million at the time of the purchase. Currently, the deal would be worth over $21 million. Another example are two luxury houses constructed by property developer Go Homes in the UK, which sold for $455,000 and $773,000, respectively. Both are reported to have been bought by men in their 20s working in the technology industry. One of the unnamed buyers reported being a Bitcoin miner.
Some property owners are even using their real-estate as means to acquire cryptocurrencies, with one seller reported to only accept Bitcoin to sell his two-bedroom condo in Toronto. A property owner and businessman Derryn Shrosbree is not scared of limited regulation and unpredictability accompanying cryptocurrencies: "I'm an ex-derivatives trader from Wall Street, so I don't mind volatility that much," said Shrosbree. "I believe in cryptocurrency… I think it's the future."
The idea of using virtual currencies to purchase real estate is new and there is still a lot of nervousness for newcomers, with much of the concerns around the lack of regulation and lack of understanding how crypto gains are taxed. Even if you find a seller willing to accept your offer in bitcoin, "it can be tricky to find title insurance and escrow companies who feel comfortable handling virtual currency transactions. To take on your home purchase, they may require you to cash out your bitcoin so that your transaction can be treated more like a traditional house purchase." as Open Listing notes.
Nonetheless, the real estate market is fast to recognize the importance of cutting-edge payment methods. Andrew Canter, CEO of Canter Companies, has seized the new opportunity in the real estate market and got involved in Bitcoin. “We realized there is so much new wealth in the crypto space. There are a lot of new buyers and a lot of people that have seen their wealth fluctuate over the last year.”
Big names are also adapting, and as reported by Fortune, The Knox Group of Companies, with headquarters in the Isle of Man announced it will launch a residential and commercial property development in Dubai valued at $325 million, with residences that can be purchased with bitcoin.
