Christie’s Makes History: Launches First-Ever Crypto Real-Estate Team to Manage $1B in Luxury Listings

Move over, traditional brokers—Christie’s just bulldozed into the future. The auction giant unveiled the world’s first dedicated crypto real-estate team, armed with a $1 billion portfolio of high-end properties. No more begging banks for mortgages—just seamless blockchain deals.

Luxury meets ledger

From Beverly Hills penthouses to private islands, these listings aren’t just accepting crypto—they’re built for it. Smart contracts replace escrow, and NFT deeds skip the paperwork. (Take that, slow-moving regulators.)

Why it matters

The rich aren’t just hodling—they’re transacting. Christie’s bets crypto’s volatility won’t scare off buyers when a Dubai villa costs 500 ETH today… and maybe 300 tomorrow. (Wall Street analysts clutch their pearls.)

One thing’s clear: When a 256-year-old auction house pivots to crypto, even boomers can’t ignore the shift. Now—who’s shorting traditional real estate brokers?

Christie’s International Real Estate Goes Crypto

According to reports, Christie’s launched a dedicated division after seeing a string of big deals handled in digital coins.

The move follows a $65 million sale of a Beverly Hills mansion paid entirely in Bitcoin. That deal proved to Christie’s that high‑end clients would embrace crypto when privacy and speed matter most.

According to The New York Times, Christie’s International Real Estate has launched a dedicated crypto real estate division, becoming the first major U.S. brokerage to handle property transactions conducted entirely in cryptocurrency, without relying on traditional banks.…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 24, 2025

Crypto Listings Top $1 Billion

Now Christie’s has over $1 billion in properties listed for sale to crypto buyers. These include beachfront estates in Malibu and sleek modern homes in Palm Springs.

One standout is an $18 million modernist home in Joshua Tree owned by film producer Chris Hanley. He says that accepting crypto shows he is open to a new generation of buyers who MOVE fast and value discretion.

Many wealthy buyers already use trusts or shell companies to hide their identities. But with online sleuths getting better at tracing ownership, digital currencies offer an extra LAYER of privacy.

That’s a big draw for celebrities or tech founders who don’t want anyone knowing where they live. Christie’s team even handled sales where the seller never met the buyer face to face.

Crypto can swing 10% or more in a day. Christie’s plans to use escrow accounts and real‑time price feeds so neither side loses money if bitcoin tumbles overnight.

The firm is also in talks with major banks about letting buyers finance purchases with crypto collateral. In parallel, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to study how to treat cryptocurrencies as reserve assets in mortgage risk evaluations.

Meanwhile, regulators and banks remain concerned with wild price fluctuations and money laundering. Any extensive deployment of mortgages backed by crypto will require new regulations and protection.

In the meantime, most purchasers will keep on paying cash or traditional loans.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView