Apartment In Portugal Sold For 3 Bitcoin (BTC), Crypto Adoption Increasingly High?

Portugal allows crypto transactions for real estate. (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA – An apartment in Braga, Portugal, has reportedly been sold for a fee in the form of Bitcoin. A person bought the apartment for 3 BTC (equivalent to Rp. 1.5 billion). Uniquely, these purchases are not converted to euros first. Because the government allows real estate transactions using cryptocurrencies.

Local media reported that the transaction was the first in Portugal's history. The new owner paid 3 bitcoins (BTC) for the house, worth around 110,000 euros at the time the purchase was made. The title certificate was transferred in Porto's Póvoa de Varzim district last Thursday, May 5, according to a report by business news portal Idealista.

Reporting from Bitcoin.com News, the purchase was made with the help of real estate agent Zome, law firm Antas da Cunha Ecija, and partners from Swiss Crypto Valley. The chairman of the notary chamber of Portugal also participated.

Buying property directly with cryptocurrencies is now possible in Portugal thanks to new rules recently adopted by the Order of Notaries, the body that regulates notary activity together with the Ministry of Justice.

Previously, coins had to be converted to euros before payment to the seller was made. Now, real estate acquisitions can be made with crypto, where digital money is exchanged for property rights.

Certain procedures must be followed to make such sales, to comply with anti-money laundering rules. The source of fiat funds — the bank account — where the digital asset is purchased, must be shown and the public address of the crypto wallet presented, before the coins are transferred.

News of crypto-funded property deals comes after a recent report by the Bank of Spain revealed that Portugal's share of crypto transaction volume in the eurozone exceeds the weight of gross domestic product (GDP) in single currency area economies.

With a relatively affordable cost of living and crypto-friendly tax rules, Portugal has become a hub for technological innovation, home to digital nomads and most recently refugees from Ukraine's crypto sector.

It does not stop there, profits from crypto transactions in Portugal will not be subject to income tax. This benefits digital currency investors in the country.