Paying for Real Estate with Bitcoins

[Lolly Spindler]

Recently, a Philadelphia Real Estate company announced that it would accept bitcoins and litecoins for all of its properties. Some of you are probably wondering, what’s a bitcoin?

At its most basic, a bitcoin is virtual currency. Unlike other forms of currency, they only exist online and in the form of encoded computer files. You can use them like any other form of online payment for goods and services. One US dollar is worth roughly .0011 bitcoin, but the value of bitcoin is constantly fluctuating.

Bitcoins operate on a peer-to-peer (P2P) as opposed to a client-server network, meaning you deal directly with the person from whom you’re buying. For example, if iTunes were a P2P as opposed to a client-server network, you’d be purchasing your music directly from Rihanna and Daft Punk.

Bitcoins and litecoins (because the currency is literally weightless, get it?), which are almost identical to bitcoins, are now accepted at a Subway in Pennsylvania, by lawyers, at art auctions and even by a barber. Most recently, real estate has thrown its hat into the bitcoin (BTC) and litecoin (LTC) ring.

What do you think of this? Would you ever consider buying or selling real estate with bitcoin?