Bitcoin Bull Is Selling His NYC Townhouse For $45 Million In Cryptocurrency

A hedge fund millionaire and bitcoin enthusiast is selling his six-story townhouse on New York’s tony Upper East Side for a cool $30 million, or $45 million in cryptocurrency.

Claudio Guazzoni de Zanett runs the hedge fund Lyster-Zanett, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain. He said he will accept payment in bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), or Ethereum (ETH) and said his higher listing price in crypto is due to the market’s erratic price swings.

“I’m a true believer in these networks, but it’s very volatile,” Zanett told the Wall Street Journal. “They could be down 60 percent in two weeks.”

While the idea of selling or buying a multi-million-dollar house in bitcoin might sound crazy, it’s a trend that’s starting to gain traction. In 2017, a Texas resident made headlines after purchasing a home using only bitcoin for payment.

Bitcoin Used to Buy Homes and Lambos

That was the first real estate deal conducted using only cryptocurrency. The buyer’s broker, Sheryl Lowe of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, said the bitcoin transaction was the easiest she had ever done.

“In all of my 33 years of closing transactions, I honestly couldn’t have expected something so unique to go so smoothly,” Lowe said. “In a matter of 10 minutes, the bitcoin was changed to U.S. collars and the deal was done!”

Another sizzling trend is the purchasing of flashy Lamborghinis using bitcoin, as the Inquisitr has reported.

Peter Saddington, an Atlanta computer coder, used 45 bitcoins to buy a $200,000 Lamborghini Huracan last fall. Sadding started buying bitcoin in 2011 when it cost less than $3 a coin. Today, BTC prices hover at about $6,900.

“Buying the Lambo with bitcoin is proof it can be used for real transactions, buying really cool stuff,” Saddington told CNBC. “It’s not only used by criminals.”

While cryptocurrencies remain a mystery to the vast majority of people, the digital assets are quickly emerging as an investment class to be reckoned with.

Cryptocurrencies have their share of detractors, but longtime bitcoin evangelists like the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, have no doubt that crypto is here to stay, despite the daily declarations that “bitcoin is dead.”

‘Failure of Imagination’

The Winklevoss twins will launch block trades through their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini starting on April 12.

The service will compete with companies that cater to institutional investors by allowing traders to buy or sell large quantities of virtual currencies. Block-trading companies are already up and running in Australia, Hong Kong, and other markets.

As for bitcoin skeptics who can’t see its potential, Tyler Winklevoss said they suffer from a “failure of imagination.”