Jamestown Partners With BitPay For Cryptocurrency Rent Payments
Real estate investment firm Jamestown has announced that it has partnered with BitPay to accept cryptocurrency on commercial rent payments. Jamestown will not receive or hold any cryptocurrency; rather, BitPay will act as an exchange between Jamestown and its tenants, Real Estate Weekly reports.
“Blockchain technology and the digital assets it enables, like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, are key components to the evolution of real estate,” Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, told REW. “Allowing for cryptocurrency payments is part of our commitment to innovation and larger digital asset strategy to optimize and maximize our physical real estate through technology and virtual integrations.”
The company has plans to accept bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, wrapped bitcoin, dogecoin and litecoin, along with five USD-pegged stablecoins: BUSD, DAI, GUSD, USDC and USDP.
The program will be initially rolled out in the United States, with plans to expand into Jamestown’s assets in Europe. Jamestown is also considering a direct deposit program for its employees that want to be partially paid in cryptocurrency. Additionally, the company will connect BitPay with its retail tenants to offer cryptocurrency payment options to customers.
The commercial real estate industry has been slowly increasing its acceptance of cryptocurrency, though it is still far from widespread. Last year, WeWork announced it will begin accepting payments for membership fees utilizing bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
Developer Property Market Group said last year it would begin accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its pre-construction condo deposits at its E11EVEN Hotel & Residencies in Miami, though cryptocurrency would only be accepted at the second, third and fourth stages of the deposit process, with banks and title companies still requiring the crypto assets be converted into U.S. dollars upon signing.
On the other side of the (crypto)coin, cryptocurrency mining has been a boon to data centers and office buildings in rural and suburban areas of states like Georgia, those with notably cheap power, which crypto mining companies have been flocking to in order to more cost-effectively mine the assets.
