UAE based Real estate and industry experts estimate that crypto payments for Dubai real estate increased by 300 percent in 2022 so far and the tend will continue. Majority of buyers are using stablecoins such as Tether, USDT as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to experts, many investors have requested payment via cryptocurrency, as it is a simple, rapid, trustworthy, and low-cost alternative compared to bank transfers. While local enterprises get hundreds of requests to purchase real estate using cryptocurrency, they maintain that cryptocurrency payments as a mode of payment require additional regulation by regulators such as the Dubai International Financial Market or the Central Bank.
General manager of the company YBETA for cryptocurrency payments, Omar Karnibeh, said “the company was established only 4 months ago, but has received dozens of requests from international customers, mostly wanting to buy real estate in Dubai in crypto. YBETA acted as an intermediary in completing the process where payments were either made through stable currencies, such as “Tether” and “USDT”, or major currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The value of most transactions exceeded one million dollars (AED 3.68 million)”.
“We receive requests from customers directly or from developers who have customers who want to pay in cryptocurrencies, and we help them according to the fees we receive for the total payment. We are witnessing a great demand from many customers, especially from Russians. Our main work is to develop payment mechanisms in cryptocurrencies, including selling and buying real estate in cryptocurrencies, so that the transfer is made from the buyer’s digital wallet to our wallet. Then, we liquidate to the currency of AED and complete the deal”, Karnibeh added.
Concerns regarding the security of these transactions were addressed by Karnibeh, who stated that the transaction is installed and logged on the blockchain system and that a contract with the buyer is also signed to confirm the payment process. There’s also the Binus B2B option, which means that if a transfer is made, the entire procedure will not be completed until the cash is received.
Shady Taddini, CEO of Century 21, stated that many investors utilize cryptocurrency as a means of payment, with some making it a requirement. “We saw an increase in cryptocurrency payments to purchase real estate by 300 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to payments in cryptocurrencies during the first seven months of 2021.”
CEO of FEM Real Estate, Firas Al-Masdi, said, “Payment for the purchase of real estate through cryptocurrencies is very common and effective in the UAE.” He mentioned that his business sold a residential skyscraper for 635 million dirhams in Bitcoin to one of Dubai’s top real estate developers in 2019.
Because there is no direct channel for payment in bitcoin, the seller still needs an intermediary. Many real estate brokers in UAE have started to accept crypto payments including Your Place accepting crypto payments with Equipment, GrePayand Alchemy bringing crypto payments to the UAE market, the area appears to be moving toward cryptocurrency payments.