After this, you can say what a crypto proof of funds does and does not prove, read a RealOpen letter, and tell a listing agent how to check one.
After this lesson you can
By Johnny Schiro, licensed real estate broker in Texas, New York and Florida. Updated 2026-10-10.
This check has five questions. You need 4 correct to pass.
A screenshot of a wallet, an exchange account or a block explorer fails three ways. It does not show whose address it is. It does not show that the person can move the funds. And it can be faked in minutes with basic tools.
Treat a buyer who offers a screenshot the way you would treat a buyer who says they are pre-approved for $10 million and has no letter.
"Proof of funds" sounds like one fact. It is six, and they are not interchangeable.
| What you want to know | What shows it | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The assets exist | A balance read from the blockchain at a named address | A statement from a platform you cannot independently check |
| 2. Someone controls the address | A message signed with the wallet, or a small transfer sent from it | A screenshot, a video of the app, knowing the address |
| 3. The buyer owns them, or is authorized to use them | Identity verification tied to the wallet, plus entity documents when an LLC, trust or partnership holds the wallet | Control alone. A key proves a key, not a legal right |
| 4. They are liquid | Transferable today, as opposed to staked, vesting, pledged or on an exchange hold | A total that lumps locked and liquid together |
| 5. They are acceptable | An asset on the accepted list, at a conservative value, from a screened address | A token nobody will convert, or funds that fail screening |
| 6. They are available on the timeline | Lead times for unstaking, exchange withdrawals and confirmations fit the closing date | A balance that is real but two weeks from transferable with closing in five days |
A RealOpen verification answers the first, second, fourth and fifth, states a figure for the sixth, and ties the wallet to a verified individual for the third. The entity cases in the third row are where you still have questions to ask. More on that below.
There are three checks, and together they take about 15 minutes.
Nothing else moves. The buyer's crypto stays where it is until funding. RealOpen never asks for a private key or a seed phrase.
Proof of ownership works for wallets the buyer controls: hardware wallets, software wallets, cold storage and multisig. It does not work for an exchange account, because the exchange holds the keys.
So when a buyer's crypto is on an exchange, tell them this: withdraw it to a wallet you control and verify that wallet. When it is time to fund, you can still send from wherever you like.
A buyer whose assets sit with an institutional custodian is in the same position: the custodian holds the keys. The preferred path is the same too, move the assets to a wallet the buyer controls and verify that. Where that is not possible, RealOpen has a manual path: a statement or letter from the custodian or exchange documenting the holdings and the buyer's authority over them, reviewed by RealOpen staff, who can approve a letter on that basis. It is slower and it is staff judgment, so start it early and do not promise the outcome.
A Bitcoin wallet usually holds its funds across many addresses. Every verified address counts, and the dashboard shows a Bitcoin holder how to get all of theirs counted.
Staked assets are handled in the same scan. Supported staking positions count toward the verified total and are disclosed on the letter as staked. The buyer does not have to unstake to be verified. They do need transferable funds by the time the deal is funded, and unstaking can take days.
A signed message proves that whoever signed it holds the key. It does not say who legally owns the money or whether the signer may spend it on a house. Most of the time those are the same person, and identity verification ties the wallet to them. Three situations are different.
None of this makes you a compliance officer. You are asking the same question you would ask about a buyer whose down payment comes from a family trust: who has the authority to spend this, and does the name on the contract match. The red version of this situation is Module 3's mysterious partner: an outside party who controls everything and the buyer cannot document anything.
A RealOpen Proof of Funds letter is one page, titled "Verification of Funds." It contains:
How to read one:
A Proof of Funds is not the purchase money and it is not a mortgage pre-approval. It shows verified buying power on the date printed. It does not guarantee the price will hold, that the buyer will not spend the money elsewhere, or that a lender will accept the assets. It says nothing about the buyer's income. On a financed purchase, the lender needs the RealScore Report instead, which Module 5 covers.
If a listing agent wants to confirm a letter, RealOpen's contact details are printed on it, and they can call or email. Every RealScore Report and Transaction Record carries a document ID and a QR code, and anyone can enter the ID at realopen.com/verify to confirm the document is authentic, unaltered and current. A RealScore Report is current for 30 days; a newer report supersedes an older one, and the verify page shows which is which.
If a letter's contact details do not match RealOpen's published ones, or RealOpen cannot confirm it, treat the letter as fake. Module 3's fake proof-of-funds pattern starts exactly there.
RealOpen Certified is a private designation issued by RealOpen. It is not continuing education credit and is not issued or endorsed by any state licensing authority. How certifying works.