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Posted over 1 year ago

Colorado Crypto Boom?!

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As we can see, Denver, Colorado ranks right in the middle of markets with the most crypto hiring as of 2021. Governor Jared Polis, co-founder of the Blockchain Caucus, (who made his fortune in tech), has brought that mindset to the State in which he represents. "Our state was the very first state to hire a chief blockchain architect," Polis said of the 2019 hire of Thaddeus Batt. Polis himself also accepted Bitcoin for campaign donations during his 2014 run for the U.S. Congress.

ETH Denver is the largest and longest running Ethereum event in the world, according to its website, with its mission centered around "cementing the Rocky mountain region and the State of Colorado as a thriving hub of Ethereum and blockchain innovation." Governor Polis attended this year's event where he told the crowd, "we see [blockchain] as a critical part overall of Colorado’s innovation ecosystem". He also mentioned that Colorado would become the first state to accept cryptocurrencies for payment of state taxes and fees. Ohio tried something similar in 2018, but was unsuccessful and the attempt was abandoned in 2019. Now, we have seen this in other Countries, but it would be a game changer if this did indeed happen in the United States.

In addition, Riot Blockchain, a Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure company, makes its headquarters in Castle Rock, CO, about 30 miles outside of Denver. Here, Riot keeps its electrical switchgear engineering and fabrication operations, with its actual mining taking place in Texas and New York. Here's a link to a list of blockchain companies with a presence in the State.

But what about real estate? Well in 2018, a property at 3745 Pecos Street tried its best to sell for crypto. While it ultimately was acquired with fiat, it certainly showed the Denver market that there was interest to at least engage in crypto real estate.

Cedar CrestSource: Cedar Crest Properties

Flash forward to the present day, and we have 2245 Blake Street, a luxury penthouse condo listed for sale at $12,o00,000, billed as a "cryptocurrency preferred property". The unit itself is a combined 3 condos, with 2 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, with over 7200 sq ft of living space.

E57e89f56794eb54b5b13dcc87a746f4 Uncropped Scaled Within 1536 1152Source: eXp Realty/Shelly Vincent

Listing agent Shelly Vincent with eXp Realty told Colorado Newsline that the blockchain market won't work in every market. “It’s definitely a demographic-driven phenomenon that is slowly growing,” Vincent told Colorado Newsline. “But, by all means, there is a direct correlation between the age and tech demographics and the demand to buy homes using cryptocurrency.”

This thinking is very much in line with a recent study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), stating that Millennials now make up 43% of home buyers – the most of any generation – an increase from 37% last year. “We are only just beginning to see what this technology can do in this industry,” Vincent added. “I think time will tell, but right now we are seeing huge positives from the adoption of crypto in Colorado’s housing market.”

As with everything, we are still a ways out till crypto buying and lending becomes more commonplace. It is however, extremely encouraging to see examples like Colorado embracing the role of crypto in their State from the very top of leadership. It certainly seems to have a winning formula working in its favor.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article should be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research (DYOR).




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