Sometimes, making a payment results in a big payday — for you. At least, if you’re making that payment with a volatile cryptocurrency that has a tendency to undergo rather large swings in worth. One bitcoin enthusiast managed to luck into not only a new house, but a $1.3 million profit as a result of his payment choices. Rather than taking out a mortgage, cutting a check, or arriving with a suitcase of cash, a recent California homebuyer decided to purchase a $4 million estate with the cryptocurrency.
As Bitpay CCO Sonny Singh told Speaking to Bloomberg Markets, a real estate developer approached Signh and his company to discuss an offer for an expensive property made using bitcoin. Singh helped the developer understand the logistics of the payment method, and after some negotiations, the final asking price of $4 million was settled upon.
But while the developer was deciding on the price, bitcoin was experiencing some major movement of its own. When the transaction was initiated, bitcoin was worth just $750. But by the time it was time to make the cryptocurrency payment, the value of the tender had actually increased to over $1,000 (for the first time since 2013, actually). That meant that the buyer ultimately made about $1 million on his $4 million purchase.
“The buyer actually ended up making about 25 percent in the currency exchange rate, essentially, in the appreciation,” Singh said. “He got a house for pretty much 25 percent cheaper.”
Such stories, though not apocryphal, are certainly rare, so we’re not necessarily suggesting that you make all your future purchases with bitcoin with the hopes that a good exchange rate will end up benefiting you. But all the same, it looks as though bitcoin is becoming an increasingly accepted manner of payment, which may just spell opportunity for the savvy buyer.
