The luxury marketplace that accepts Bitcoin, BitPremier, is listing a Greek Villa for sale. The home is priced at almost 5,000 bitcoins, or €1,200,000. With capital controls in Greece, the wealthy there may choose to use Bitcoin as a payment rail to save their assets. Alan Silbert, CEO of BitPremier, said when he started the company in 2013:
"We're finding a lot of wealthy, smart people are getting into the game with Bitcoin. I think as the ecosystem matures, I think you're going to see a lot more of that."
Located in Verga Messinia, the property sits on 4.025 sqm of land only five minutes from Kalamata Beach. Outside, the villa shows three levels of landscaping, including an exclusive orchard growing crops such as oranges, guava and olives. The spacious home also has a large terrace, a two-car garage and a tool room. With Spanish decor and proximity to the beach, the home built in 2006 comes with many amenities. If sold for Bitcoin, it will be another large real estate sale made in crypto and completed through the BitPremier marketplace.
BitPremier was founded in 2013 by Alan Silbert, the brother of Barry Silbert. The luxury marketplace sells a wide variety of items, including estates, classic cars and even a satellite. The company offers an escrow service to its clientele and keeps both involved parties completely anonymous till the deal is closed. The service has a fee of 5% on all sales. When he started the company, Silbert told Business Insider:
“I prefer to own Bitcoin to property. [T]hat's why I would be happy to sell it in bitcoin. I think property is a better asset class than USD, and bitcoin a better asset class than property.”
The villa is one of the first big items being put up for sale in Greece during its time of crisis, following the stepping down of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on July 6, after citizens voted "no" to demands from an international lenders’ referendum. The vote shows that the majority do not agree with austerity measures given by the Eurozone leaders. Marketplaces such as BitPremier may see more business coming from Greece and surrounding countries, with people selling estates and other assets for Bitcoin as they attempt to hold onto their wealth.
Bitcoin still too unpredictable as a currency alternative but certainly better than fiat in jeopardy of getting confiscated.
— Alan Silbert (@alansilbert) July 5, 2015
