Over the past month, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin have significantly dropped in value. But you wouldn’t know that based on the Miami-area real estate market. This week, a $22.5 million Miami Beach penthouse was just purchased using cryptocurrency—making it the most expensive property to ever be paid for using the digital currency. While this news might surprise most readers, the practice of using cryptocurrency to purchase real estate has actually been picking up steam for years.
The Miami Beach penthouse is located in the city’s Surfside neighborhood, an exclusive area that made history for an oceanfront condo that sold for $33 million in December 2020 (it’s now among the most expensive condo sales in South Florida history). The 5,067-square-foot penthouse is located on the ninth floor of the 12-story building, and includes four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The buyer (who remains anonymous) will enjoy a 2,960-square-foot terrace with oceanfront views.
The 12-story building is located in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the area.
What’s more, the building offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a rooftop tennis court, a gym, a yoga studio, a sauna, and a steam room. There’s also a children’s playroom, a catering kitchen, and temperature-controlled parking spaces.
The main bedroom inside the 5,067-square-foot penthouse with views of the ocean.
“Cryptocurrency is the future of wealth, and we believe this is only the beginning,” said Giovanni Fasciano, codeveloper of the Miami building, in a statement.
The $22.5 million penthouse comes with a host of amenities, including an indoor and outdoor swimming pool.
But not everyone thinks cryptocurrency has lasting power in real estate, let alone as a medium of global exchange. Using his platform as a New York Times opinion columnist, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has declared cryptocurrency to be a bubble that will eventually burst. Perhaps more cynical in his beliefs, BlackRock CEO Laurence D. Fink said in 2017 that Bitcoin is an index of money laundering. “Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world,” he declared.