Man buys house with Bitcoin, lucks into a $1.3M profit

While Bitcoin has starred in a series of horror stories about wasted retirement funds and lost fortunes due to its notorious unpredictability, one man from California lucked out big time on his recent house purchase – and all thanks to the popular cryptocurrency.

Speaking to Bloomberg Markets, Bitpay CCO Sonny Singh told an intriguing story how Bitcoin’s volatility accidentally helped the buyer in question take home a profit of approximately $1.3 million during the exchange from the cryptocurrency to American dollars.

Singh and his company were recently approached by a real estate developer that received an offer from a prospective buyer who expressed a preference to pay in Bitcoin. After walking him through the peculiarities of the transaction, the two parties eventually reached an agreement for the estate, which was valued at around $4 million at the time.

But here’s the thing: While the cryptocurrency was worth a mere $750 when the transaction was originally initiated, by the end of the transfer Bitcoin had surged up to over $1000, earning him a profit of more than a million dollars.

“The buyer actually ended up making about 25 percent in the currency exchange rate, essentially, in the appreciation,” Singh said. “He got a house for pretty much 25 percent cheaper.”

While the cryptocurrency continues to remain on the verge of mainstream adoption due to its highly unstable rates, the technology is gradually starting to make its way to the masses. Not too long ago, Japan became one of the first countries to introduce a service that allows users to pay their utility bills in Bitcoin.