With all the appropriate legal advice from our law office, anyone wishing to purchase a property with cryptocurrency can do so, even if the seller does not accept this payment method and even with real estate agencies that typically don’t accept crypto payments. Find out more in this article

While Bitcoin and other leading digital currencies are perceived as confusing and foreign to many, they are becoming increasingly common. In fact, there may come a time when they become as common a feature of everyday life as more traditional currencies have been for centuries.

To the uninitiated, cryptocurrencies have largely been considered a trading asset – and a highly volatile one at that. We all remember the news when Bitcoin reached its all-time high in 2017 and then plummeted shortly after. 

However, over 100,000 merchants around the world, including Microsoft, now accept digital currencies. You can book vacations with popular airlines and hotels. You can also play popular games at online casinos with crypto. And the list never really seems to end.

It was therefore inevitable that cryptocurrencies would find their way into the real estate market as well. But how does the whole process work when it comes to buying a house with crypto?

Can you buy a house with crypto?

The short answer is yes, you can, in fact, buy a piece of real estate with crypto. However, it is not always simple to do so. While there are numerous real estate agencies around the globe that accept crypto as a payment method, far from all of them do.

So, your best bet to be able to buy a house with crypto would be to use a platform.

How do you buy a home with crypto?

Buying a home with crypto is similar to buying a home with traditional currencies. You simply trade the currency for the ownership of the home. However, obviously, there will be some things that are unique when it comes to making such a big purchase with crypto. 

For starters, not all cryptocurrencies are treated equally. When you plan to use your crypto for things such as buying a home or buying a new car, you want to stick to the more well-known currencies. Sticking to currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether will drastically increase your chances of successfully being able to finalize your purchase.

This is because there are so many cryptocurrencies out there, that real-world companies would have a hard time accepting all of them, at least in the current climate. As such, the vast majority only accept Bitcoin, while some accept Ethereum and Tether as well.

The first step is to use cryptocurrency exchange services, as it will enable you to use your cryptocurrencies to purchase a home even with real estate agencies that typically don’t accept crypto payments. You simply deposit your cryptocurrency into these exchanges wallets, and in turn, the exchange company deposit the fiat currency into the real estate agency's account, quick, simple, and efficient.

The use case some exchanges services

By opting to use a cryptocurrency exchange service, you can spend crypto in places where you normally would not be able to. While crypto is growing in popularity, the truth is, that plenty of companies are slow to adapt to the changing financial climate. 

So while the number of people choosing to invest in, or use crypto to make purchases and payments, is going up rapidly. The number of companies that accept crypto as a payment method is going up slowly. 

This is what makes crypto exchange services so vital. As it enables you to buy a new car, boat, or home, from any dealership or agency that you prefer. As the transactions are easy and safe, you are sure to avoid hassles, annoying fees, and long wait times. 

Why buy a house using crypto?

Buying a house using crypto can be a great strategy for diversifying your investments. While the price of crypto may fluctuate rapidly, and by a lot, the real estate market fluctuates more slowly over longer periods of time. It is also a good idea to diversify, simply to avoid “putting all of your eggs in one basket”, so to speak. 

However, using crypto also nets you the advantage of being able to spend a global currency. Whereas, if you have a traditional currency, that limits your spending capabilities quite a bit. For example, it can be quite tricky to spend US dollars outside the US. Comparatively, crypto will be crypto, regardless of which continent you are on or which country you are in.

Pros of using crypto when buying a house

• Direct crypto transfers are much quicker than conventional real estate transactions. As with a cash transaction, a direct crypto sale between two parties eliminates the complexity and bureaucracy of a standard mortgage-funded property sale.
• You will turn a less stable asset into one that is more stable. The market value of cryptocurrencies may fluctuate significantly from month to month, week to week, and even day to day. In contrast, real estate is more likely to rise and depreciate over longer periods of time.
• You may receive a better offer. If the seller prefers to increase their crypto holdings, they may accept a lesser offer in cryptocurrency. You could spend less than if you made a cash or mortgage-funded offer.
• 

Cons of using crypto when buying a house

• The value of cryptocurrencies fluctuates continuously. Imagine making an offer of ten Bitcoin for a property, getting it accepted, and then seeing the value of Bitcoin triple just before the contract is signed.
• Not every merchant accepts cryptocurrencies. While confidence in Ethereum, Bitcoin, and its rivals is rising, few sellers are prepared to go all-in and accept cryptocurrencies as payment for real estate transactions, which may restrict your home-buying possibilities.
• As a down payment, mortgage lenders may not take crypto-derived cash. Again, since bitcoin is anonymous. This means that when it is sold and converted to cash, there is no paper trail that lenders may use to detect a sudden influx of funds into your account. Thus, they may be unwilling to accept your loan application without proof of funds in certain scenarios.

Houses that have been bought with crypto

More and more countries are joining the lists of properties sold in crypto. For example, there was a condo in Milan, Italy, that was sold for €940 000 in crypto which was made possible by using a crypto exchange service. 

Some companies are also experimenting with real estate and NFTs, where they auction off an NFT of the home in question. This is still quite experimental, but it is interesting to see more and more use cases of both crypto and NFTs, as the two are quite interlinked with each other. The home mentioned here is located in Florida, USA, and was sold for 210 Ethereum, or roughly $653 000 at the time. 

It is worth noting that in big cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Lisbon and Paris, it is becoming quite popular to buy and sell properties for crypto as these are “global cities”.

Recommended real estate agencies

Finding the right real estate agency to work with can be quite tricky, especially when hoping to use crypto to finalize the purchase. Fortunately, we have done the hard part for you, as we cover this extensively in the article Recommended Real Estate Agencies Worldwide (To Use With Crypto).

Offering tips for some of the most popular real estate agencies that accept crypto and operate on a global scale. Making the options discussed there optimal, whether you are hoping to find a home in the US, Europe, or the tropics.