Pay close attention to what happens when a real estate tycoon starts buying bitcoin, because that’s exactly where we’re headed.
Grant Cardone, the same individual who built a $4.9 billion real estate empire and has raised over $1.6 billion to acquire real estate (mostly apartments) with the help of 20,000 investors, is investing tens of millions into bitcoin.
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Cardone’s latest investment move is a $230 million bid for a Boca Raton apartment complex, part of a bankruptcy auction. That’s pretty standard for him. But this time, he’s folding $100 million worth of bitcoin into the deal, and might even take the whole hybrid venture public.
And he’s already done something like it four times.
In one recent example, Cardone picked up an $88 million property for $72 million, taking advantage of softening prices in a tight credit market. Then, he dropped $15 million worth of bitcoin into the fund alongside the real estate asset. That fund has no debt, which is unusual, and the property generates about $350,000 in monthly cash flow.
Interestingly, Cardone’s not just pocketing that income or selling off apartments to go all-in on crypto, but rather using real estate’s reliable income to acquire bitcoin over time.
In his words, “What if the real estate bought my bitcoin, and then I could actually take the whole thing public?”
That’s the play. Real estate gives him a stable yield. Bitcoin, he believes, offers asymmetric upside. If all goes according to plan, Cardone plans to roll this combination of hard assets and crypto appreciation into a public offering, possibly at the end of this year. Maybe early next. Ring the bell. Turn the hybrid fund into stock. Exit, stage left. And then do it again.
He’s aiming to complete 10 such projects.
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It’s a strange loop, but here’s how it works:
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Real estate: Earns monthly cash flow
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That cash: Buys Bitcoin
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The fund holds: Apartments + bitcoin
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Both assets: (Hopefully) grow in value
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The whole package: Could go public as a stock
So he’s stacking real estate income into crypto, letting them rise together and eyeing a big public exit at the end.
Depends on who you ask.
Some experts see merit in Cardone’s logic. Ian Kane, founder of Firepan, suggests that long-term bitcoin holders may benefit from converting their gains into an investment that generates passive income. “They get peace of mind,” he said. “Real estate can be a hedge against crypto’s volatility.”
