"Buy land, they aren't making any more of it." This quote, often mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain in the 20th century, has frequently been used as a slogan in real estate sales. Gravity strongly supports this statement; if humanity cannot achieve interstellar travel, then land, like Bitcoin, is 'non-inflatable.'
In 2025, the crypto wave spread from Silicon Valley to Wall Street and eventually impacted Washington, subtly changing the fundamental structure of the real estate industry as compliance gradually progresses. In early July, Christie's International Real Estate officially established a dedicated department for crypto property transactions, becoming the world's first mainstream luxury real estate brokerage brand fully supporting 'pure digital currency payments for home purchases' on a corporate basis.
And this is just the beginning. From Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to Dubai developers, from Beverly Hills mansions in Los Angeles to rental apartments in Spain, a wave of property trading platforms focused on blockchain technology and digital assets is emerging, forming a new 'Crypto Real Estate' track.
Why can cryptocurrency drive the next wave in American real estate?
The value of real estate in the United States approached $50 trillion in 2024, making it one of the most significant asset markets globally. This figure was about $23 trillion a decade ago in 2014, representing a doubling of asset scale in this sector within ten years.
Overall volume of real estate in the U.S., analysis report by Awealthofcommonsense.
The June 2025 NAR report shows that the median home price in the U.S. reached $435,300, a 2% increase from the same period last year. Housing inventory is approximately 1.53 million units, with supply and demand at 4.7 months. High home prices and long-term supply shortages have raised the barrier, compounded by persistently high mortgage rates (the average 30-year fixed rate was about 6.75% in July 2025, while current Bitcoin mortgage rates are around 9%) that remain above the annual appreciation of property values, suppressing transaction volumes and driving real estate investors to seek new sources of liquidity.
And high interest rates block not only the low liquidity issues faced by real estate investors. Over the past five years, the average wealth of property owners has increased by $140,000. However, many families are reluctant to leverage their real estate assets for liquidity because their monetization paths generally consist of only two options: selling the entire asset or renting it out. Leveraging through real estate lending does not seem like a good choice given the current interest rates. Selling under the continuous rise in housing prices also does not appear to be a better investment decision.
Therefore, in the overall $50 trillion real estate sector, about 70% of the equity (approximately $34.98 trillion) is owned by holders, which means that only 30% is supported by borrowed funds, while the rest is the buyers' own capital. For example, if a family owns a $500,000 property, although nominally they own this property, if they wish to sell it, they must deduct the share of borrowed funds to determine their actual holdings. With 70% equity, they possess $350,000 equity in the property.
U.S. real estate equity holdings, source: Ycharts.
Having merely a supply-demand relationship is far from sufficient. The concept of RWA has developed for many years but truly exploded only in the past two years, particularly after Trump's election in 2025, which further increased the slope of growth.
The core of this is compliance, especially for investors in low liquidity assets like real estate. In March 2025, FHFA's new director William Poole ordered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop plans to allow the assessment of single-family mortgage risks to include crypto assets as reserve assets without needing to convert them into USD first. This policy encourages banks to view cryptocurrencies as countable assets for savings, expanding the borrower base.
In July 2025, Trump signed the (GENIUS Act) and promoted the (CLARITY Act). The GENIUS Act officially recognizes stablecoins as legitimate digital currencies for the first time, requiring stablecoins to be fully backed 1:1 by USD or secure assets such as short-term government bonds, and mandates third-party audits. The CLARITY Act attempts to clarify whether digital tokens are classified as securities or commodities, providing a regulatory pathway for practitioners.
These combinations provide greater safety margins for the sector. Moreover, the scarcity property of real estate, similar to Bitcoin's 'cannot be inflated' characteristic (land cannot increase in quantity, properties can, building houses is like mining), makes it easier for the two to combine. Digitization helps to break down high barriers. Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, predicts that by 2035, approximately $4 trillion of real estate may be tokenized, far exceeding less than $300 billion in 2024.
Tokenization can break large real estate into smaller shares, providing global investors with low-threshold, high-liquidity participation methods and creating cash flow for sellers and buyers who originally lacked funds. That said, while the $4 trillion figure is appealing, similar to institutional predictions that ETH's market cap will reach $85 trillion in the future, it remains to be discussed how far it has actually developed, and perhaps we can find some Alpha in the market.
Fragmentation? Lending? Renting? Providing liquidity? Playing real estate like playing DeFi.
Unlike low liquidity counterparts such as gold and art, real estate inherently possesses financial attributes. When it connects with crypto, it becomes even more diversified.
Although there have been attempts before, the collaboration between the Harbor platform and RealT in 2018 to launch blockchain-based real estate tokenization services is considered one of the earliest and more substantial real estate tokenization projects.
Specifically, the RealT platform uses blockchain to split property rights into tradable RealTokens. Each property is owned by an independent company (Inc/LLC), and investors purchasing RealTokens effectively hold a portion of shares in that company, proportionately enjoying rental income. The platform utilizes Ethereum's authorized issuance mechanism, lowering the investment threshold (usually around $50), and both transactions and rental distributions are completed on-chain, so investors do not have to bear the day-to-day management work of traditional landlords. RealT distributes rental income to holders weekly in the form of stablecoins (USDC or xDAI).
Its expected returns come from the Return on Net Assets (RONA), defined as annual net rent / total property investment. For example, if a property has an expected annual rental income of $66,096 after expenses and a total investment of $880,075, the RONA would be 7.51%. This figure does not account for leverage or property appreciation gains. The average yield on the platform currently fluctuates between 6% and 16%.
After tokenization, the next step is naturally its application. RealT's properties do not have loans; all funds come from the sale of RealTokens. However, to allow holders to flexibly utilize their assets, RealT has launched the RMM (Real Estate Money Market) module.
RMM is based on the Aave protocol, allowing you to do two things: first, provide liquidity, just like earning LP interest in DeFi, investors can deposit USDC or XDAI into RMM to receive corresponding ArmmTokens, which accumulate interest in real time. Second, you can borrow by collateralizing RealTokens, using the RealTokens or stablecoins you hold as collateral to borrow assets such as XDAI. There are also two borrowing rate options: a stable rate (similar to a short-term fixed rate that adjusts when utilization is too high or too low) and a variable rate (fluctuating based on market supply and demand).
Opening up this lending path means that leverage can be employed, much like how house-flipping groups borrowed money to buy properties years ago, getting loans to buy properties and then using those loans to buy more properties. Collateralizing RealTokens to borrow stablecoins and repurchasing RealTokens, repeating this several times to increase overall return rates. It is important to note that with each additional layer of leverage, the health factor decreases and the risk increases.
Note: The health factor is the reciprocal of the ratio of collateral value to loan value; a higher health factor indicates lower liquidation risk. A health factor of 1 means the collateral value equals the loan value, which may trigger liquidation. Methods to avoid liquidation include repaying part of the loan or adding collateral (similar to the margin in perpetual contracts).
In addition to using real estate as 'collateral' for loans, recent discussions have increasingly focused on using crypto native assets as collateral for mortgage loans. Fintech company Milo allows borrowers to use Bitcoin as collateral to obtain mortgages with up to 100% loan-to-value ratios. As of early 2025, it has completed $65 million in crypto mortgage transactions, with cumulative loans exceeding $250 million. Policy levels are also 'green-lighting' this model, with the FHFA requiring mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider compliant crypto assets in risk assessments. Although the interest rates for crypto mortgages are generally close to or slightly higher than traditional mortgages, their main appeal lies in the ability to finance without having to liquidate crypto assets.
A survey by Redfin indicated that after the pandemic, about 12% of first-time homebuyers in the U.S. used cryptocurrency earnings to pay down payments (through sales or mortgage loans). Coupled with the shift in policy direction, this will undoubtedly attract 'big enterprises to enter the market,' and 'Crypto Real Estate' is finally witnessing the entry of high-end real estate economic firms.
In July 2025, Christie's International Real Estate launched the world's first luxury real estate division focused on cryptocurrency, becoming a landmark case of integration between traditional high-end real estate brokerage and digital assets. Interestingly, this initiative did not stem from a top-down strategic push but rather in response to the genuine needs of high-net-worth clients.
Christie's executives stated, "An increasing number of affluent buyers wish to complete real estate transactions directly using digital assets, prompting the company to build a service framework that supports full-process crypto payments." In Southern California, Christie's has completed several high-end property transactions entirely via cryptocurrency, totaling over $200 million, all 'eight-digit' luxury home sales. Currently, Christie's holds a crypto-friendly property portfolio valued at over $1 billion, encompassing many luxury homes willing to accept 'pure cryptocurrency offers.'
One mansion accepting pure cryptocurrency payment, valued at $118 million, 'La Fin', is located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, featuring 12 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a 6,000 square foot nightclub, a private wine cellar, a sub-zero vodka tasting room, a cigar lounge, and a gym with a climbing wall. The previous asking price was as high as $139 million, source: realtor.
Christie's crypto real estate division not only provides payment channels based on mainstream crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum but also collaborates with custodians and legal teams to ensure transactions are completed within a compliant framework. These include custody for cryptocurrency payments, tax and compliance support, and asset matching (exclusive crypto real estate portfolios that meet specific investment needs of high-net-worth clients).
Aaron Kirman, CEO of Christie's Real Estate, predicts that "over the next five years, more than one-third of residential real estate transactions in the U.S. may involve cryptocurrency." Christie's shift indirectly confirms the penetration of crypto assets among high-net-worth individuals and signals a structural transformation of traditional real estate transaction models.
Infrastructure is improving, but it seems that 'user' education still has a long way to go.
As of now, real estate tokenization projects have already taken shape but seem to fall short of the expected standards. RealT has tokenized over 970 rental properties, bringing nearly $30 million in net rental income to users; Lofty has tokenized 148 properties across 11 states, attracting around 7,000 monthly active users who share approximately $2 million in annual rental income through token ownership. Several projects are hovering around the tens of millions to over a billion dollars in scale, struggling to break through for various reasons.
On one hand, blockchain indeed allows transactions to break free from geographical limitations, enabling instant cross-border settlements, with transaction fees being lower compared to traditional real estate transfer costs. However, investors need to understand that this is not a 'zero-cost' ecosystem: token minting fees, asset management fees, transaction commissions, network fees, and potential capital gains taxes create a new cost structure. Compared to the 'one-stop service' of traditional real estate agents and lawyers, crypto real estate requires investors to proactively learn and understand smart contracts, on-chain custody, and crypto tax rules.
On the other hand, while liquidity is a selling point, it comes with higher volatility. Tokenized properties can be traded around the clock on secondary markets, allowing investors to not only receive rent but also exit their positions at any time. However, when liquidity is insufficient, token prices may be significantly higher or lower than the true valuation of the property itself, with market fluctuations sometimes exceeding the cycles of physical real estate, increasing the speculative nature of short-term trading.
Furthermore, many platforms have introduced DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) governance, allowing investors to vote on matters such as rent and maintenance. This sense of participation is similar to 'playing Monopoly', lowering the threshold and enhancing interactivity, but it also raises new requirements for users: they not only need to understand property management but also must possess awareness of on-chain governance and compliance. In the absence of sufficient education, investors may misjudge risks, viewing digital real estate as a short-term arbitrage tool rather than a long-term asset allocation.
In other words, the true threshold for crypto real estate lies not in technology but in cognition. Users need to understand concepts such as collateralization ratios, liquidation mechanisms, on-chain governance, and tax reporting, which represents a disruptive shift for those accustomed to traditional home buying models.
As regulation becomes clearer, platform experiences improve, and mainstream financial institutions get involved, the future of crypto real estate is expected to shorten this educational curve. However, in the foreseeable coming years, the industry still needs to invest more resources in user training, risk management education, and compliance guidance to truly transition 'crypto real estate' from a niche experience to widespread adoption.