The Rise of Cryptocurrency in Real Estate by Tony Martinez

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Buying real estate with cryptocurrency became a reality in the United States in 2017. A home in Austin, Texas, was purchased with Bitcoin, albeit the seller did request that the cryptocurrency be converted to USD at the transactions completion. The current heightened excitement with cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, is inspiring change in how people pay for everyday goods and investments. Digital currencies aren’t so fringe and far fetched anymore. As more business and government leaders accept them as payment, investments, and as a way to store capital - we are sure to see their popularization continue to grow.

Take for example, the city of Miami. Mayor Francis Suarez is a very crypto-forward government leader in his new suggestions. Miami could one day soon begin paying city employees in cryptocurrency if they desire. Local fees and taxes could also potentially be paid in cryptocurrency, as well as the city’s treasury holding some capital and/or investments in digital currencies. And I’m sure many of you have heard of Tesla’s 1.5 billion purchase of Bitcoin.

So, what does this mean for you as a real estate investor? Well, as (not if) local governments begin to adopt cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for taxes and the like....I can also see them accepting it for tax liens and tax deeds. For those familiar with digital currencies, you already know of the volatility of it’s value as it is subject to the fluctuating exchange rate. This could complicate real estate transactions that take some time to complete. While a cryptocurrency purchase would benefit from avoiding the sluggishness of using a bank to transfer funds, the volatility of it’s value could be problematic.

This uncertainty has actually already been addressed. There are various businesses that expertly help buyers and sellers facilitate transactions, as well as offer escrow services. In the event that the digital currency does need to be exchanged to a fiat currency the volatility of it can be mitigated by these service providers. Not to mention they can even help advertise properties for sale that are accepting, for example Bitcoin, as payment.

As the world changes we adapt. Saen and I have shared our experiences in our early adoption of tax lien investing at our 3 day workshops. We would write to county departments, asking for their lists of tax delinquent properties. And they would mail them to us. We would spend hours reading through them, and slowly doing our due diligence. But as counties began moving this information online, and even their auctions online, we had to adapt so that we, and those we teach, could be successful.

Learning to adapt is definitely the theme for the United States Tax Lien Association this past year. We really took pride in our live workshops. Though as we move towards virtual training, we will continue to uphold our high standards of education. We are working tirelessly to implement our distanced learning while maintaining a strong support structure and family atmosphere.

Sincerely,
Tony Martinez

Tony Martinez is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the US Tax Lien Association, which is an organization that is committed and dedicated to helping others achieve total financial freedom through the power of investing in Tax Lien Certificates. With over 20 years of expert experience, Tony is the world's #1 authority on the subject of creating enduring wealth through the little know strategy of investing in Tax Lien Certificates, which gives anyone the opportunity to earn guaranteed fixed rates of returns of 18% – 36% interest per year, and acquire valuable real estate for approximately 10% of market value.