A studio apartment starts at 33 Bitcoins or around Dhs570,000…

Here’s something cool. A luxury property developer based in the Isle of Man has announced that it will allow customers to purchase apartments on a new project in Dubai using the digital currency known as Bitcoin.

Scheduled to be completed in 2019, the project will consist of two residential towers and a shopping mall, spanning a total 2.4 million-square-feet.

Named Aston Plaza and Residences, it will be located in Dubai Science Park near Al Barsha South. 1,133 apartments are available for purchase, 480 of which having already been sold via more conventional currency transactions, with the rest being made solely available to those looking to pay via Bitcoin. 

A two-bedroom apartment will set you back 80 Bitcoins (approx Dhs1.4 million), a one-bedroom goes for 54 Bitcoins (approx Dhs928,000) and studio apartments start at 33 Bitcoins (approx Dhs567,000).

Additional furniture and interior design services can also be purchased in Bitcoins, and will be handled by the interior design company of Baroness Michelle Mone – better known as the founder of lingerie company Ultimo and also a member of The Knox Group, the company behind the project.

According to Reuters this is the first major development to accept the digital currency as payment, with the The Knox Group saying that it is the perfect opportunity for investors who profited from the recent Bitcoin boom to turn their their gains into tangible assets.

Wait, so what exactly is Bitcoin anyway?

If, like us, you missed out on buying Bitcoin early on, you might kick yourself after you find out how much they’re worth now.

For the uninitiated, Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency that isn’t tied down to to any one market or central repository. Transactions are conducted peer-to-peer without the need of an intermediary, and that means that users own and control 100 per cent of their Bitcoin, without being subject to standard banking regulations.

Bitcoin first sprang up on the internet in 2009, and is believed to have been created by an unknown programmer under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Originally written off as not being a viable alternative to mainstream currency options, Bitcoin has seen amazing gains over the last several years, increasing in value by more than 400 per cent so far in 2017 alone.

Currently, one Bitcoin is valued at approximately Dhs17,200.

Wish you had paid attention sooner? Yep, so did we.

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Image: supplied, bitcoin.org