The purchase and sale of real estate with cryptocurrencies in Argentina, as in the world, is already a reality and therefore it is essential to know the procedure to carry out a safe operation for the buyer and the seller, complying with all the corresponding legal and tax aspects. .
Our country is among the 10 countries in the world where the most cryptocurrency transactions are carried out daily and, for this reason, the relationship between cryptocurrencies and real estate is and will be very close, since an extremely volatile investment – such as digital currencies – is quickly transformed into an investment in bricks that has always given Argentines security and good returns in the medium and long term.
The key data to advance in a sale with digital currency, are the following:
- The seller of the property must accept payment for your property with cryptocurrencies. In this sense, it is essential that the registered broker detail in the publication the acceptance of this type of means of payment.
- If the seller wants to have the physical dollars after the operation, he has to be willing to carry out a simultaneous exchange operation paying a commission that ranges between 1% and 4% in the Fintech companies available in the market.
- The seller and the buyer must have or create a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies -it is very simple to do it-, the most used are Binance, Lemon, Ripio, Buenbit, Belo, Satoshitango and Defiant.
- The contract must detail the data and identification of each of the digital wallets, information equivalent to the banking CBU.
- The parties must agree on which cryptocurrency they will use for the operation, for which it is advisable to anchor it in stable digital currencies that follow a 1:1 parity with the dollar –USDT or DAI-.
- If volatile currencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, are used, solvency clauses and assumption of exchange risk by the buyer in the event of possible drops in the price of the currency must be foreseen.
- The parties must declare that they are the holders of each of the digital wallets involved and, likewise, the buyer states that he has the availability of the amount of digital currencies necessary to complete the operation.
- The amount of the transaction will correspond to the sale value, as in normal operations, and will be estimated at the time of the sale by applying the official dollar price of that day, despite the fact that at the time of the transfer the payments are made in a stable cryptocurrency or in bitcoins.
- If the real estate operation exceeds the value of 1,500,000 pesos, the selling party must complete the AFIP form called COTI, through the collection agency’s website.
- Notary, surveyor or real estate broker fees can be paid in cryptocurrencies if the professionals accept that means of payment, but the taxes that apply to the operation, whether it is the property transfer tax, the income tax, stamps , municipal or provincial taxes owed must be paid in pesos.
- If the real estate transaction exceeds $1,320,000, the buyer must make a declaration of lawful origin of funds at the time of granting the title deed before the intervening notary public.
The most important thing is that the real estate sale is implemented through a public transfer-exchange deed: the buyer agrees to give an intangible asset -the digital currency- and the seller to deliver ownership of the property accepting said currency as part of payment. In this act, the buying party transfers the amount involved to the digital wallet of the selling party and when it impacts the seller’s wallet, both parties sign the public deed before the notary.
The real estate market is constantly evolving and the impact of real estate networks, innovation and technology in Argentina, not only favors the successful outcome of the marketing process, but also allows us to make the most of all available digital media. to conclude a transaction quickly and safely for all parties.
Executive Director of CAMESI (Chamber of Real Estate Services Companies), President of Keymex Argentina, auctioneer and public broker.
Source: Ambito
