From crypto to NFTs: how is digital currency affecting real estate?

Expert panelists join the latest episode of Keepin’ It Real with Nick Bailey to explore how the modern landscape of financial innovators like cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, NFTs, and even the Metaverse, are changing traditional real estate.

From TV commercials to news headlines, the subject of cryptocurrency – and affiliated ventures – is popping up everywhere. And for consumers and specialized analysts alike, the new-age digital landscape of currency is rather complex to understand.

The use of digital currency is on the rise in the real estate market, acting as a medium recognized in countries around the world that traditionally exchange with differing physical forms of money. But with more and more consumers pursuing transactions with crypto – or even an NFT (non-fungible token) – as their preferred funds, now could be the right time for real estate professionals gain a better grasp on what it all means.

On the most recent episode of Keepin’ It Real with Nick Bailey, panelists Tony Giordano, entrepreneur, cryptocurrency expert and CEO of Giordano Industries, and Sam DeBord, CEO of RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization), join RE/MAX, LLC President and CEO Bailey to explore all things digital currency, including cryptocurrency, the Metaverse, blockchain technology and NFTs. Most importantly, the three unpack the impact these entities have on real estate.

For those unfamiliar with these terms, here’s a quick overview. Simply put, cryptocurrency is a digital currency mined virtually (think: Bitcoin) and a blockchain is the technological system that supports cryptocurrencies and acts as a digital ledger. While a few types of crypto have joined everyday vernacular, there are actually thousands of cryptocurrencies and counting.

“Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Web3 [and the] Metaverse [are] the next evolution of the internet… The actual internet will be third dimensional,” Giordano predicts.

To kick off the conversation, Bailey asks: How are these factors affecting real estate? And what is the next evolution of monetary value?