The first case in Russia of selling a luxury house for bitcoins

Kalinka Group announces the first precedent in the history of the Russian elite real estate market for the sale of a house for cryptocurrency. Country mansion with an area of 930 sq. m. the meter, located in the village of Nikolino, is for sale at a price of about 3,000 bitcoins*, which corresponds to 482 million rubles or about $ 8 million.

"This is the first time we have encountered a client's desire to sell a house for cryptocurrency. Such transactions are still new even for the global real estate markets. We are pleased to be pioneers and open new frontiers in business, – says Ekaterina Rumyantseva, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kalinka Group. – Russian legislation has not yet defined the rules for working with bitcoins and there is no legal definition of cryptocurrency yet, so we are carefully studying the possibility of such a transaction. Before the appearance of a regulatory framework regulating such a sale, the client is forced to pay for the agency's services in national currency."

The possibility of conducting a purchase and sale transaction for cryptocurrency is currently being studied by the company's legal service. Much will depend on what status the concept of cryptocurrency will acquire in Russia. For example, in China and Switzerland, bitcoins are considered as a tangible asset. In this case, a transaction under a barter agreement is possible. If the cryptocurrency is recognized in Russia as a type of money, then according to the law on currency transactions, the transaction is impossible, since the sale of real estate must be made in the national currency. And since the bitcoin exchange rate is much more volatile than the exchange rate of any other currency (it can change instantly by several points), the transfer of payment to rubles can significantly change the value of the object.

"The sale of a house in Nikolino may become the first precedent in legal practice in the real estate market. We are carefully studying the world experience of conducting such transactions and understand that cryptocurrencies should be described at the legislative level as soon as possible, since this innovative type of payments is already able to affect the money turnover in business," comments Ekaterina Rumyantseva. "If the house finds its buyer before the regulatory interpretation of bitcoin appears, we will be forced to recommend to the client to sell in ruble equivalent."

The two-storey house for sale is offered with designer finishes and furniture. It is equipped with the most fashionable and modern areas – from an open-air Jacuzzi, a hammam and a cinema room to a cryo sauna and a snow room. The elite house is located in one of the most luxurious villages on Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway. A well-thought-out landscape, its own system of lakes, a verified architectural concept are complemented by a rich infrastructure, which includes not only restaurants, beauty salons and sports complexes, but also wellness and medical centers, SPA complexes and heated pools on the lake shore.

* The price is indicated as of August 17, 2017. Since the price of bitcoin is changing dynamically, recalculation relative to the current exchange rate takes place at the time of sale.