As Bitcoin and cryptocurrency continues to become more and more viable by the week, one lingerie tycoon and her billionaire boyfriend have recently sold out 50 Dubai developments for Bitcoin.
Sold Out
Buying homes with Bitcoin is becoming more and more common.
Ultimo lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone and her billionaire boyfriend, Doug Barrowman, initially put 50 of their 1,300 developments, located in Dubai’s Science Park, up for sale with Bitcoin — and it didn’t take long for them to get gobbled up. “We’ve sold all out,” Barrowman told Business Insider. “Some bought ones and twos, and one individual bought ten.”
Studio apartments ran for $130,000 — currently about 16 bitcoins — while two-bedroom apartments went for $380,000, or about 47 bitcoins. This is reportedly the first property development ever to be sold using cryptocurrency.
Those purchasing Mone’s developments also have the option to design their new home using Baroness Mone Interiors — her self-titled design service — which can also be paid for using Bitcoin.
According to Mone, most of the Bitcoin buyers fit the stereotypical mold of young, newly-rich cryptocurrency investors. “Actually, the team got a relationship going with them as well,” she explained. “They would talk on the phone — they’re not just like in their hoodies in the dark in the rooms.”
Demand for the duo’s properties isn’t decreasing, either, as more buyers are looking to drop Bitcoin on some prime Dubai real estate. “We’re still getting lots of inquiries,” Barrowman explained. “We’ve not released another batch. Particularly when bitcoin was riding high in the charts. I think a lot of people were cashing out over the Christmas period.”
However, Barrowman’s company, the Knox Group, doesn’t actually receive the payments in the virtual currency. The entrepreneurs have arranged a deal with BitStamp, a popular exchange, to immediately swap cryptocurrency payments into USD.
The pair expects to make more apartments available for purchase with Bitcoin in the future.
Serious crypto investors
Not only are Mone and Barrowman selling property in Dubai for the daddy of virtual currency, they’re also launching their own cryptocurrency-powered investment platform, Equi.
The duo hopes to raise $75 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which will sell Ethereum-based Equi tokens. Barrowman explained to Business Insider:
Essentially what an Equi Token allows people to do is access our platform, have a look at the investment propositions that we are showcasing and form a view, and they can use the Equi Tokens to effectively invest in the projects in a project-by-project basis.
When it comes to purchasing physical assets with Bitcoin, it appears as if Mone’s and Barrowman’s Dubai properties are just the start. “I like to see this crypto space being used to buy real-world assets,” Barrowman said. “That’s the spirit of Equi as well. It’s transcending the crypto space into the physical and real world.”
Do you think purchasing property with Bitcoin is going to become commonplace in the future, or will it remain limited to select cases? Do you have dreams of buying a home with Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay, Bitcoinist archives.