Cryptocurrency and Real Estate

[Tyler Sweet]

Has anyone purchased Real Estate with cryptocurrency? Did you sell first into cash, then purchases? What do you wish you knew then that you know now? Would you do it again? 

[Dan Huang]

@Tyler Sweet I am a firm believer in the disruptive value of blockchain technology and decentralization, and a crypto-friendly realtor in Las Vegas. 

The process of buying real estate with crypto through a private seller will vary from seller to seller. Some may be comfortable with 100% crypto transactions, while others could opt for a split between cryptocurrency and cash.

For sellers unwilling to receive cryptocurrency directly, the digital asset will be converted to dollars to complete the transaction.

There are many ways a buyer can use crypto to make a purchase:

The simplest way is a Crypto to Crypto transaction, as long as the seller accepts cryptocurrencies as payment. This is not the norm right now, but I do believe over the next several years, we will see more sellers accepting this asset due to its potential and hedge against the deflating dollar. 

That said, most transactions will be part crypto, part cash. I'm partnered with an escrow agency that accepts crypto and is familiar with handling the asset. The crypto can be considered as EMD or down payment, the rest of the transaction will happen just as if you were running a traditional transaction.

If a seller is completely against the idea of receiving crypto, you can always use a service like Bitpay to convert the cryptocurrency to cash.

Last but not least, I always ask clients... why sell your crypto asset when you use it to secure a loan? Crypto is a volatile asset, but the rewards are magnitudes higher than any other traditional investment. It's an asset that will continue to grow as more and more people and institutions begin to adopt it as a safer hedge against inflation than precious metals. 

There are services like Blockfi, Unchained Capital, and many others will will give you a short-term loan backed by your crypto assets. Use this as a way to secure downpayment, then refinance and pay back the loan to secure your cryptocurrency.

That said however, I think real estate investing is going to change dramatically over the next several years, largely due to smart contracts and tokenization. The idea of ownership is changing with the emergence of web3.0 :)

Just my 2 cents, not financial advice. Do your own research, but happy to connect and chat further.