Las vegas mansion listed for $7.85m... In bitcoin
Photo: Yahoo! News
Bitcoins were invented in 2009 by an unknown computer hacker. Since then, the currency, which offers anonymity and security to its online adopters, has been used for an increasingly wide range of activities and products, from drugs and guns to Australian beef and dental services.
To date, though, the biggest amount of Bitcoins spent on something was a $1 million sale of computer hardware. For Sommer and his wife, that figure is just a pixel within a much bigger picture.
The couple placed their Las Vegas home on the market just before the end of 2013. With a price tag 4,000 per cent higher than the median local sales value, the mansion already stands out from the neighbours. The opulent estate boasts its own staff quarters with Jacuzzis and a library clad in cherry wood, not to mention a secret garden, marble imported from abroad and views of five different golf fairways. A separate guest house, which spans an equally large 2,000 square feet, was ever used by Anna Nicole Smith as a location for a movie shoot.
The most striking thing about the property, though, is its potential purchase in Bitcoins - something that Sommer knows will drive up awareness from buyers, particularly those from overseas, who are more likely to buy such a property.
“If you increase awareness of potential buyers, you could tap into new markets," Julian Tosh, a Bitcoin-merchant consultant and owner of bitcoinsinvegas.com, told the Las Vegas Review Journal.
“There are a bunch of people who have bitcoins, and they’re dying for a place to spend it,” added.
Bitcoin became increasingly popular in 2013, driving up its value exponentially. Its reception has not always been positive, though, with authorities not keen on the illegal activities associated with its use. Last year, China banned the currency altogether.
"Locking in a price for such a large transaction is going to be kind of difficult," acknowledged Sommer. "If the value is changing 30 per cent a day, how do you quantify that in a contract and expect each side to hold on for 30 to 90 days while escrow clears?"
Indeed, the currency's value was just $20 dollars at the start of last year. By the end of 2013, that had skyrocketed to over $1,000.
"It’s very volatile, and of course... there is a lot of speculation," Sommer told The Verge. "But there seems to be a growing amount of trade and commerce involving Bitcoin as well. So it gives me the confidence that we can accept it as a viable currency."
He is not the first to sell a house in Bitcoins - that honour belongs to a man in Canada in April 2013 - but he is certainly the boldest.
"What makes gold valuable? What makes a diamond valuable? What makes anything valuable?" points out his wife. "It’s what people want."