Ben Shaoul, a real estate magnate based primarily in New York City and the president of Magnum Real Estate Group, has sold a condo for $15.3 million all payed in Bitcoin(BTC)trade. The residential property located in Manhattan at the Upper East Side and was purchased by a Taiwanese buyer.
Magnum Real Estate group represented the landlord who intends on converting the rental of 389 East 89th Street into complete condos for sale. The property sold earlier this month is part of this chain, standing at 11,400 square foot space.
According to sources, the buyer is Affluent Silver International LLC, a Taiwanese entity. To proceed with the transactions, both parties used Bitcoin payment services like Bitpay and Starr. The broker who along with Jet Real Estate represented Magnum, Eric Hedvat commented that the transaction was a seamless process. Shaoul has not spoken publicly about the deal and the use of Bitcoin.
However, this is not the first time Magnum Real Estate has been involved in deals where payment was through Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Last year, they worked with two buyers in the same building who had bought residential properties that were transferred through payment in Bitcoin. The first property was a 624 square foot unit studio with the value of $875,000. The second property was a 989 square foot unit that had one bedroom with the demanding price of $1.48 million.
Previously, Shaoul had stated that he would be interested in accepting Bitcoin payments for another residential unit. The property was located at 62 Avenue in Alphabet City. But ultimately, during that time he sold the property, a building under development, to the real estate investor Martin Shapiro for $82 million last year.
Despite its Volatility, More Conducting Business in Crypto
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have previously not been recognized by many sellers, especially not in real estate. The reason for this is largely since their values tend to fluctuate a lot. For example, last year alone Bitcoin’s value for a single virtual coin went from around $3,000 to about $12,000.
However, as its popularity increases, more people have started using this in businesses such as real estate, especially in New York. A rental management company based in Brooklyn, called ManageGo, stated that it would start accepting cryptocurrency as valid method of payments.
Cryptocurrency is starting to be used in the more expensive listings, like a five-story mansion on the Upper East Side going on sale for $29 million, which accepts Bitcoin(BTC)trade, Ethereum (ETH)trade, or Ripple (XRP)trade. Additionally, just over the past month, AllStocks Crypto News reported that a Canadian couple attempts to sell their home only in Bitcoin.
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