A Qualicum Beach, B.C. couple is accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for their oceanfront property.
The five-bedroom, five-bath home is listed at $2.78-million, but it can be yours for enough Bitcoin.
“We’re being pioneers, for better or for worse,” said co-owner Camilla Stephan.
So how much Bitcoin do you need to buy this home? It depends.
“The house is priced in Canadian dollars, of course, Canadian house in a Canadian market and so the Bitcoin would have to equal that amount,” said Stephan.
Brain Heck, who also owns the home, said they are aware of the volatility of the cryptocurrency, but they think they could make it work.
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So far, the prospects of a sale are promising, they said.
“It’s very early in the process but so far it’s encouraging, we have had some interest,” Heck said.
“We’ve got it on the Bitcoin market and we’ve gotten some inquiries there.”
There are currently about 12 Canadian homes listed on Bitcoin’s real estate website.
“We have dabbled ourselves in cryptocurrency a little bit just as a small portion of our investment portfolio,” she said. “And that sort of evolved to a conversation of, you know, ‘where would one use Bitcoin as a form of payment?’”
So how many Bitcoin is the home worth?
“Today, or two days ago?” Stephan joked.
At Wednesday’s exchange rate, the home was worth just under 189 BTC. That translated to about C$2.78 million.
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The couple is working with lawyers who are guiding them through the process and will ensure the sale goes smoothly.
They say they didn’t expect the media attention that came along with their decision.
“It’s new, it’s different,” Stephan added.
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