In a new development that has investors talking about a boost in real estate market options, Dogecoin, the Elon Musk approved cryptocurrency and bitcoin rival, is now accepted as a payment option for various real estate projects.
It has been a bumpy ride for Rhode Island realtor Kyle Seyboth, who on behalf of a client listed a vacant plot for sale in early May, with the main requirement being that all offers had to be made in Dogecoin. The meme-inspired cryptocurrency has been hitting the news recently, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company will no longer be accepting bitcoin due to environmental concerns, causing its value to plummet by 15% before bouncing back.
A huge gamble by all accounts, Seyboth took advantage of a rising trend in the real estate market to accept cryptocurrencies for transactions. The potential for the currency to rise in value is what makes this a particularly attractive idea for future-oriented opportunities. The contract closed on May 8 for a value of 160,000 Dogecoins or an equivalent of $0.72 per coin, at the time.
Shortly after, a comment by Elon Musk while hosting “Saturday Night Live” caused the currency to take a tumble to $0.39 per digital coin. The race is still on until June 15th, when the deal will be closed and the value of 160,000 dogecoins can be finalized. As of May 27, the price of Dogecoin sits at $0.35 or $56,000 for the aforementioned house.
Another real estate firm, Samana Developers, this time in Dubai, has announced it will accept Dogecoin for its new residential project in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC). An additional incentive is the 5% discount on offer and the project is expected to launch in late June or July 2021.
In Europe too, it is now possible to purchase luxury residential properties in beautiful Portugal using DOGE. Other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) Ether (ETH) and Cardano (ADA) are options for buyers looking for a promising investment opportunity.
FNTX Capital Suisse, a Swiss based liquidity provider has partnered with Portugal based property developer 355 Developments to offer condos and residential homes that can be bought using cryptocurrencies. At the moment the most expensive option on offer is a penthouse listed at 5 million dogecoins. A more affordable option is a two-bedroom apartment that can be secured for only 1.57 million DOGE or $ 549,500 according to most recent values.
According to Yahoo Money, the US market in particular has seen a huge surge in sellers and firms willing to trade and accept using cryptocurrencies since the start of the pandemic. Crypto enthusiasts are also navigating new avenues within the virtual real estate market.
While only time will tell how far this upward trend will continue, it is safe to say that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are becoming more accessible to buyers and investors.
