Christie\u2019s International Real Estate clients will be able to buy and sell homes via cryptocurrency.\n<\/p>\n
On the back of major progress<\/a> for crypto legislation in the United States, high-profile cryptocurrency adoption moves are accelerating rapidly. The latest to join the party is Christie\u2019s International Real Estate \u2014 the luxury real estate arm of the legendary auction house \u2014 which will allow buyers and sellers to transact directly in cryptocurrency, bypassing the traditional banking system.<\/p>\n The activation sees an entire team of lawyers and analysts dedicated to handling real estate transactions via crypto payments. The New York Times reported<\/a> that Christie\u2019s has a portfolio of homes worth more than $1 billion available with sellers who are willing to accept cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n In an interview with the New York Times, Aaron Kirman, the CEO of Christie\u2019s International Real Estate and the initiator of its crypto division, said that the firm had already closed deals in crypto. \u201cThe trend was obvious \u2014 crypto is here to stay,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n Kirman also told the Times that buyers can maintain anonymity in the purchasing process, and that there is high demand for such deals among his high-net-worth clientele. Kirman has not replied to The Defiant’s request for comment by press time.<\/p>\n Christie\u2019s is one of the world\u2019s oldest and largest luxury brokerages, with a projected $5.7 billion in global sales for 2025, based on its year-end report<\/a> in 2024. The International Real Estate branch is active in nearly 50 different countries, including major markets such as New York, Paris, London, Dubai, and Singapore.<\/p>\n The move comes just a week after the celebrated close of \u201cCrypto Week\u201d in the United States, when the GENIUS and CLARITY<\/a> acts were approved by the House of Representatives. President Donald Trump signed the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act into law<\/a> last Friday, the culmination of months of negotiations and debate in Congress. The landmark move solidified clear cut regulations surrounding the use of stablecoins in the United States. <\/p>\n Kirman told The Times that he sees the increasing demand for cryptocurrency as a sign of \u201copenness to innovative buyers, some of whom are crypto millionaires and billionaires looking for real-world assets to diversify.\u201d<\/p>\n This is not the auction house and brokerage\u2019s first involvement in the crypto space. It was a major high-profile player in the NFT boom<\/a> that peaked in 2021-2022, housing NFT auctions via its on-chain auction platform, Christie\u2019s 3.0. <\/p>\n Christie\u2019s also brokered the landmark Beeple Everyday 1\/1 NFT, which sold for $69.3 million in 2021, and is largely attributed as the spark that set off the NFT bull run.<\/p>\n On July 21, Christie\u2019s completed another milestone NFT auction, when the \u201cA Goal in Life\u201d NFT, which is a collaboration between football superstar Lionel Messi and digital artist Refik Anadol, closed for $1.85 million<\/a>.<\/p>\nRegulatory Shift<\/h2>\n