Why, because of the main stable coins, it is the only one on of the largest exchanges, Binance, will NOT do a 1:1.So, you're best bets would be those like USDC, TUSD, GUSD, BUSD.

You will have to pay higher personal income tax rate, versus waitingtill after one year for lower Capital gain tax rates.

If they have money and can compete on pricing, brokers will be the best bet.  

It does come down to DTI and what you can show versus what you can qualify for in terms of home price.

That’s the best bet.

Do you need or want monthly cashflow, tax write-offs, betting on appreciation,....   

As you concede, you and your tenant buyers made opposite bets on appreciation over the 3 year period in setting the option price. 

.• Use some equity from the sale to make this transition smoother.I’m torn between maintaining our current home as an asset and buying  a new smaller house to use as a rental after we move back in versus simplifying and focusing on a single upgraded property Considering factors like market trends, potential equity growth, and quality of life, which path do you think would be most beneficial?

I do not care what the source of the return is  Historically the highest return is via a value add and appreciation and is more so recently due to the recent rate increase versus earlier this century (before 2022).However, most new RE investors cannot handle extended periods of large negative cash flow.  

Costs a lot less to do all pad sites together versus individually. 2.