Developer willing to sell house for bitcoin

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

A casino owner-turned-commercial developer is asking $7.85 million to sell a Las Vegas home, and he’s willing to accept the online currency bitcoin for the deal.

Jack Sommer said he got the idea to seek bitcoin for his 25,000-square-foot mansion from two of his sons, who’ve been involved in making and trading the currency.

“The advantage is that we’re expanding our market and adding some notoriety,” Sommer said.

Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading began in 2009. Value is purchased through an exchange website with a mainstream paper currency, such as dollars or euros, though trading isn’t government-regulated.

Using the currency can streamline international business deals, said Julian Tosh, a consultant and owner of the marketplace website bitcoinsinvegas.com.

“There are a bunch of people who have bitcoins, and they’re dying for a place to spend it,” Tosh told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

He said Sommer’s willingness to accept bitcoin could open the home to a global audience.

“If you increase awareness of potential buyers, you could tap into new markets,” Tosh said.

Sommer has put a lot of work into the home in the posh Spanish Trail Country Club. It features marble from China, Iceland and Brazil, a full basement, staff quarters with Jacuzzis and a secret garden. It also has 39 air-conditioning zones fed from a 120-ton cooling tower.