The sale of the two properties, still under construction, by Prometheus International for a total value of €4.1 million, is the first acquisition of a luxury property in Portugal with the Cardano cryptocurrency.

Priyesh Patel, CEO of Prometheus, said: “We were the first in Europe to accept a cryptocurrency payment on real estate and we are very excited to be ahead of the game-changing scenario we are facing. We look forward to educating more people about this. Anything is possible as long as you comply with the laws.”

As the law has not yet regulated cryptocurrency payments, all property transfer payments must include the amount in Euros that the buyer and seller agree to negotiate.

In this case, “When we receive the money on our side, what we do is: we have exchange accounts, major currencies, major exchanges in the company account, so the money arrives in the company account and then we withdraw the money in Euros and the money comes to the Millennium BCP bank, we then have to have proof why so much money is coming, agreement of sale, client details, the background, and if everyone is satisfied and if the customer is genuine and everything is fine, then the transaction is closed. Everything is done as it should. The only difference is that you’re paying in the cryptocurrency, what matters is the value of the house and then the money received for the value that you chose to sell the property for.”

From a business point of view, it is important to get into this type of payment, as “at the moment cryptocurrency is a big market in which people have huge purchasing power, but they don't know how to spend it in the traditional market like real estate. So we thought it would be great to give them access to traditional products,” the CEO said.

According to the company based in Madeira, they have developed new protocols that allow the integration of this new market area in their internal KYC requirements (“Know Your Customer”) to carry out a transaction in Euros before registration and thus make it compatible with European legislation.

According to them: “Property ownership is also available as an NFT (Non-Fungible Token), allowing future owners to resell the property with just one click, through blockchain technology.”

In this first purchase, payment was made in Cardanos. However, Prometheus is open to accept any currency, aligned to the client lifestyle, such as bitcoin or traditional currency.

The CEO believes that cryptocurrency is the future. “This will bring new investors to Portugal. Everyone gains. In my opinion, in a few years it will be a very common thing for people to do this, as cryptocurrency is even safer and more transparent than traditional currency,” he said.

In addition, they are working on the Royal Blockhouse project, which is a “pioneer” a set of international luxury properties, fully managed on the blockchain, from smart home features, property rights, rental, fees, technology, payments and condominium, among others.

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Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins