Someone is selling a 'spectacular' penthouse in Miami — but they're only accepting bitcoin

Miami Beach, Florida

A penthouse in Miami is selling for the equivalent of about $547,000.
The seller is only accepting bitcoin.
Bitcoin has surged more than 1,500% this year.

For 33 bitcoins, this "spectacular" penthouse in Miami could be yours.

That was the equivalent of about $547,000 on Wednesday.

The one bedroom, 1.5 bathroom apartment is listed on a number of real estate portals including Redfin, Remax, and Coldwell Banker.

"PRICE? ONLY ACEPTING (sic.) BITCOIN," the listing said. Since Redfin doesn't yet list properties in bitcoin, the $33 listing price fell below its minimum-price threshold, and the apartment was not available for a tour.

According to public records on Redfin, it was last sold in January 2016 for $315,000 and gained 7.4% annually since then. Justino Ferret, the agent on the property, told Business Insider that this seller is only accepting bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency has surged more than 1,500% this year against the US dollar as it gained popularity with Wall Street and retail investors.

On Tuesday, Joseph Borg, a securities regulator, told CNBC that he had seen mortgages being taken out to buy bitcoin. Borg likely was specifically referring to a home-equity line of credit, which allows homeowners to loan from their property's value for other purposes. The idea of using a house as an ATM machine grew in popularity as the housing bubble peaked in the mid-2000's.

Converting home equity to bitcoins is not advisable, said Nela Richardson, the chief economist at Redfin.

"You're taking money out of an asset class that is highly regulated and putting it into something whose value is based on no regulations," she told Business Insider.

"We think this home for sale is more of a rare event than the start of a larger trend," she added.

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