A house in Denmark has been bought using the cryptocurrency as a means of payment. The transaction was carried out by Danish blockchain start-up Coinify on behalf of a real estate agency.
The property situated in the town of Mørkøv in the north-west part of Zealand is purchased for 117 BTC (approximately $48,500), the Coinify press release reads. The new house owner, whose name remains undisclosed for privacy reasons, is one of the early bitcoin adopters, “who has acquired the bitcoins throughout an extensive period of bitcoin mining.”
To be able to accept the cryptocurrency payment and upon the buyer’s request, Just-Sold real estate agency opened a merchant's account with Coinify. It is the first time a real estate property in Nordics is bought using a blockchain currency, Just-Sold CEO Jesper Jorgensen claims.
Joosep Vahtras, Coinify’s Compliance Officer, believes that bitcoin payments have some compliance advantages: they are easily and quickly verified and have a traceable funds origin. He reminds that according to Anti Money Laundering rules in Denmark, a person must disclose the origin of assets when making a purchase exceeding 100,000 Danish kroners (€15,000). It is difficult to obtain such information for physical cash deposits or bank transfers while the bitcoin system allows to check it in a few clicks.
Bitcoin was declared tax-free in Denmark in March 2014. The Danish Tax Authority ruled that gains and losses from casual bitcoin trading are not subject to taxation, but also mentioned that invoices could only be issued in Danish kroners or other fiat currencies. The national Central Bank qualified bitcoin as “not a currency” and compared it to glass beads in contrast to gold and silver. In its annual report, the Danish financial regulator claimed that cryptocurrencies cannot yet be considered a “serious alternative to fiat money”.
Over the two years, the attitude of European governance institutes to bitcoin seems to have shifted, as bitcoin is gaining popularity both in Europe and across the world. Financial authorities intensified discussions on the necessity of tighter cryptocurrency regulation. Last month, the European Commission announced its Action Plan proposing to develop amendments “to help identify the users who trade in virtual currencies” and put an end to “the anonymity associated with such exchanges.” Moreover, the Commission offers to oblige vendors to verify the identity of prepaid cards’ customers.
Elena Platonova
