Christie's Debuts Crypto Real Estate Division
The firm, Christie's International Real Estate, has become the first major brokerage to create a dedicated team of lawyers, analysts and crypto experts to handle transactions in which both the buyer and seller are working exclusively with digital payments and not reliant on any bank, making the move as cryptocurrency continues to zoom its way into mainstream finance.
Aaron Kirman, chief executive of a Christie's subset headquartered in Los Angeles, opened the division Thursday after closing a handful of big-ticket deals over the last two years, including the purchase of a $65 million property in Beverly Hills in which the buyers asked the sellers to accept cryptocurrency in lieu of traditional dollars.
They did, and Mr. Kirman sensed a shift in the market.
'The trend was obvious — crypto is here to stay,' Mr. Kirman said in an interview. 'It's only going to get bigger over the next few years.'
The Trump administration and Washington have rallied behind digital currency. Last week, President Trump signed the landmark Genius Act, which outlines federal rules for stablecoins, a popular form of digital currency designed to maintain a price of $1. The House last week also passed the Clarity Act, which would significantly bolster the crypto industry by shielding it from aggressive regulation. That bill is now headed to the Senate.
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This Platform Makes It Easy to Own Rental Property Without Being a Landlord with as Little as $100
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Trump reaches agreement with E.U. to impose 15% tariff, with exceptions for key industries
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