Property Mogul Grant Cardone Launches ‘First Ever’ Bitcoin Real Estate Fund on Florida’s Space Coast

Property mogul Grant Cardone is following in the footsteps of  Elon Musk and  Jeff Bezos by turning his attention to Florida’s Space Coast, where he has just launched the “first ever” bitcoin real estate fund, which will see him taking millions of dollars in property sales and investing it in cryptocurrency.

Cardone, 66, claims that by merging the worlds of cryptocurrency and real estate, he can drastically reduce the risks involved in bitcoin investment, essentially stabilizing the tempestuous crypto market by balancing it with stable cash flow from property.

He’s raising a total of $102.5 million, with each investor required to make a minimum investment of $250,000. Of that, $15 million will be spent on bitcoin, while $87.5 million will be spent on a portfolio of 300 residential units in Florida.

“I make the purchase with my money, and I pay cash for the real estate and the bitcoin at purchase,” Cardone explains to Realtor.com®. “Then I offer it to my audience of investors and partners at the same price I purchased it at. We have no debt.”

Over the next 48 months, the generated cash flow will be systematically reinvested to acquire an additional $14 million in bitcoin—which, based on historical performance, is projected to appreciate to approximately $30 million in bitcoin value over the same four-year timeline.

“This takes the volatility out of the bitcoin, because the real estate is cash-flowing every month,” says Cardone.

(Zucker Media Group)

(X/Grant Cardone)

At the culmination of the 48 months, the bitcoin acquired through cash flows will be liquidated and the initial capital investment will be returned to investors, who will still retain ownership of both the real estate and the original bitcoin purchase.

But can the merging of two markets—one traditionally stable and the other oft-wildly unpredictable—work?

According to real estate agent Yoann Dorat, of One Sotheby’s International Realty in West Palm Beach, FL, it might.

“It’s an interesting concept, like mixing two different worlds: one that’s known for steady appreciation and reliable returns, and another that’s, well, the Wild West,” she says. “If you’re comfortable with both real estate fundamentals and the roller-coaster nature of crypto, it might be worth exploring.”

Cardone is quick to note that his journey with bitcoin has been nothing but positive, having started in 2013, when he was paid 100 bitcoin for a speaking engagement in Las Vegas. At the time, that bitcoin was valued at around $500. Today, it’s worth closer to $10 million.

“I didn’t even know what bitcoin was, but I was like, ‘Let’s do it,'” he recalls. Cardone sat on that bitcoin, noting that he “didn’t need to sell it,” because he was making consistent income from his real estate investments.

“Now, that $500 has turned into $10 million,” he notes.

Space Coast highlights

The bitcoin real estate fund will invest in properties situated along Florida’s Space Coast—a term used to refer to the region surrounding the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, with 72 miles of pristine Atlantic coastline.

Space Coast communities include Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Viera, and Merritt Island. Houses in the area range from $99,000 to $6.4 million.

So why did Cardone select the Space Coast for this new venture? He admits billionaire Musk’s SpaceX was one major draw.

“I love Elon,” says Cardone, whose investment firm currently owns 10,000 units in Florida. “In one of our apartment buildings, where the average rent is $1,859 a month, you can watch rockets from your patio.”

The private space company Blue Origin, owned by Bezos, has also recently invested more than $1 billion in the area, which has only increased the allure of the Space Coast for investors and homebuyers.

“On the Space Coast, there are lots of jobs to be had in tech, aerospace, education, and related industries. Throw in Florida’s beautiful weather, access to the ocean, and low property taxes, and it’s a very appealing area,” says Martin Orefice, CEO of Rent To Own Labs in Orlando.

Space Coast real estate market

Thanks to the recent investment and innovation, the landscape of the Space Coast housing market is changing.

“Over the past decade, real estate on the Space Coast has seen remarkable appreciation, driven by high demand,” says real estate agent Martha Melendez, with The FIG Team at eXp Realty in Brevard County. “Yet, the current market is offering balance with a healthy inventory of both resale properties and new construction.”

Residents and real estate agents alike are wondering what a bitcoin fund will do to the real estate market—and are hopeful about its potential impact.

“This fund could attract further investment, elevating the local market’s profile and opening doors for broader financial innovation,” says Melendez.

Orefice thinks the fund is “a clear indicator that the area is becoming more prosperous and attracting more attention from rich investors.”

Big money follows big opportunities, and the Space Coast is a magnet for visionaries.

“The area is at the cusp of a significant boom,” says Melendez. “Investors like Cardone recognize this potential, and his presence only reinforces the bright future awaiting Brevard County.”

So why did Cardone select the Space Coast for this new venture? He admits Elon Musk’s SpaceX was one major draw.

(Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Musk’s SpaceX regularly launches rockets from the Florida area, and the mogul has plans to invest even more time and money in the area in the coming years.

(Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bitcoin meets real estate

Among Cardone’s 4.8 million Instagram followers and beyond, whom will his fund appeal to the most?

“Traditional real estate investors who are less familiar with [decentralized finance] may jump on the opportunity to gain crypto exposure,” says Natalia Karayaneva, the founder and CEO of Propy, a blockchain-based real estate platform.

However, she notes, “Most crypto enthusiasts won’t be enticed by sprinkling some bitcoin into a real estate fund.”

Instead, she says, they’re more interested in things like crypto mortgages and the ability to use bitcoin to buy a home.

The latter is already happening in Lake County, FL, according to Carrie Prieto, managing broker of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.

“We’ve successfully closed two transactions where buyers used cryptocurrency to purchase property, with sellers receiving proceeds in cash,” she says. “This approach not only expands the real estate market by attracting crypto-savvy buyers, but also broadens its reach to international markets, appealing to a more sophisticated and tech-forward audience.”

Funds like Cardone’s and innovations like bitcoin-backed loans signal a shift from bitcoin being viewed as purely speculative to being a practical financial tool, according to Ronen Cojocaru, CEO of 8081.io, a Web 3.0 fintech digital asset trading company.

“As more investment models incorporate bitcoin with traditional assets, adoption is likely to grow across diverse investor profiles,” he says.

The future of crypto

Interest in crypto is especially high right now, according to Karayaneva, “particularly given Trump’s pro-crypto stance, the approval of bitcoin ETFs, and the conversations swirling around governmental bitcoin reserves.”

Cardone, who spoke at two Trump rallies, believes strongly that a Donald Trump presidency is good for crypto.

“Paul Atkins, Trump’s choice to lead the SEC commission, is a proponent of crypto,” he says, “Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Don Jr., and Barron are all pro-bitcoin people.”

When asked how high he thinks bitcoin could go, Cardone says, “I could see a scenario where it could hit $250,000 this year. And [investor] Cathie Wood predicts bitcoin will hit $3.8 million by 2030.” (One bitcoin is valued at $97,544.05 as of press time.)

Although these projections are optimistic, bitcoin has experienced significant fluctuations in the past.

For those uncertain about Cardone’s fund given the volatility of cryptocurrency, he says, “Real estate has been stable for thousands of years. No matter what the bitcoin does, we have the base of the real estate. Even if a hurricane hits, we have insurance for the buildings. And hurricanes can’t take the bitcoin away.”

How to invest

Right now, investors in Cardone’s bitcoin real estate fund must be accredited, according to the SEC—meaning they must have a net worth of at least $1 million, or their gross income must have exceeded $200,000 in each of the two most recent years.

However, Cardone would like to see that change.

“It’s my life’s mission to see accredited and nonaccredited investors treated the same,” he says. “I’m working with the new administration to get that SEC rule changed. The person with $5,000, like my niece or nephew, should be able to invest in this. The SEC should not have anything to do with what people should invest in.”

Dual-asset strategies like Cardone’s—which leverage the stability of real estate and the high-reward potential of bitcoin—do indeed appeal to a broader range of investors, according to Cojocaru.

But if you miss out on the opportunity to invest in this first fund, Cardone says there’s good news: “Nobody knows this yet—but we’re going to do 12 of these funds by April.”