RealOpen Certified · Lesson 2 of 8

The ways crypto buys a house, and how the deal closes

After this, you can name the four routes a crypto buyer can take, say which one RealOpen runs, and explain how a RealOpen-funded deal reaches the closing table as cash.

After this lesson you can

Name the four routes from crypto to a house and ask which one your buyer is on.
Walk a convert-at-closing deal from the first call to the wire, and say what changes for each party.
Explain what RealOpen takes from your commission, and why it holds a brokerage license.
Recognize tokenized real estate as an investment, not a home purchase.

By Johnny Schiro, licensed real estate broker in Texas, New York and Florida. Updated 2026-10-10.

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About the certification

This check has five questions. You need 4 correct to pass.

Four routes from crypto to a house

"Buying with crypto" is not one thing. There are four routes, and a buyer may reach you already committed to one. RealOpen runs one of them and has no part in the other three. Know all four, so you can tell which deal you are in.

Route	What happens	The seller receives	RealOpen's part
1. Sell first	The buyer sells the crypto, moves the dollars to a bank, then pays cash or applies for a mortgage	Dollars	None. The buyer does this alone
2. Borrow against it	The buyer pledges crypto as collateral for a loan and keeps the coins	Dollars	None. RealOpen is not a lender
3. Pay the seller in crypto	A seller agrees to take the coins as payment	Crypto	None
4. Convert at closing	The buyer holds the crypto until funding. It is converted then, and dollars are wired to escrow	Dollars	This is the route RealOpen runs

Ask every crypto buyer one question early: "How are you planning to use it? Sell first, borrow against it, or convert at closing? And is this cash or financed?" The answer tells you what to ask for next.

Route 1: sell first, then buy

The buyer sells on an exchange or through an OTC desk, withdraws dollars to a bank account, and buys like anyone else. It works on any home, and some buyers will have done it before they call you. RealOpen is not involved.

Proof of funds is a bank statement, and only once the dollars are in the bank.
Getting dollars out takes time. Exchanges cap daily withdrawals, banks can hold a large incoming deposit for review, and outgoing wires have cutoffs. A buyer who plans to cash out the week of closing can miss it.
The sale is taxable when it happens, not when the house closes. That is a question for the buyer's CPA.
A lender will ask where the deposit came from. The buyer should keep the trade confirmation, the withdrawal receipt, the bank statement showing the deposit, and an exchange account statement in their own name. Without that trail, the lender makes the money sit. Module 5 covers this.

Route 2: borrow against it

The buyer pledges crypto as collateral and borrows instead of selling. It comes in two kinds: a mortgage from a lender that takes pledged crypto as security, and a plain crypto-backed loan from a crypto lender whose dollar proceeds the buyer then spends. Either way the buyer keeps the coins, pays interest, and lives with the loan's terms for what happens if the price falls (more collateral, or liquidation).

For you, the money comes from a lender. A crypto-backed mortgage is a financed purchase on that lender's timeline. With a plain crypto-backed loan, the buyer brings borrowed dollars, so ask for proof of funds the way you would for any cash buyer, and expect a mortgage lender to ask where the dollars came from.

RealOpen is not a lender. It does not make, broker or take part in these loans, and it is a different product from any of them. Module 5 draws the line between a mortgage funded partly with crypto, which RealOpen supports, and a mortgage secured by crypto, which it does not touch.

Route 3: pay the seller in crypto

A seller agrees to take the coins. This is the rare one. It limits the buyer to sellers who want crypto, and nothing about it is standard. The terms are negotiated deal by deal, the seller takes on price risk and tax consequences, and the seller should have an attorney and a CPA who know crypto before signing anything.

RealOpen has no part in a direct crypto payment. What it offers is the alternative. Any offer "in crypto" can be made on Route 4 instead, where the buyer's crypto is converted and the seller is paid in dollars. Module 6 covers that conversation with a seller.

Route 4: convert at closing

The buyer keeps the crypto until the deal funds. Then it is converted to dollars and wired to escrow. This is the route RealOpen runs. Its part is the verification, the proof of funds, the conversion and the wire.

The one idea to hold onto: a purchase funded this way reaches the closing table as a cash deal. The title or escrow company receives a standard wire, and the seller is paid in dollars. Nobody on the listing side needs a wallet, an exchange account or an opinion about Bitcoin.

It comes in two forms. All cash, where the crypto covers the full price and the buyer closes as a cash buyer. And with a mortgage, where the crypto covers the down payment, converted and wired to escrow the same way, and a traditional lender the buyer chooses funds the rest.

Routes combine, and one thing is not a route

A buyer can mix these. A traditional mortgage with a Route 4 down payment is the common mix. A buyer can also use RealOpen for verification alone: a RealScore Report can document holdings for a lender even when nothing is converted.

Tokenized real estate is a different product. The buyer purchases tokens that represent a share of an entity that owns a property. They get an investment, not a deed, and nobody moves in. A client who asks about it is asking about an investment, not about buying a home.

One Route 4 deal, start to finish

The buyer calls you. They hold crypto and want to buy. Treat it like any buyer who needs a pre-approval, except you send them to get verified instead of to a loan officer. Module 3 covers the conversation that comes first.
The buyer gets verified. They create a RealOpen account, verify their identity and prove they control their wallet. Done properly, this takes about 15 minutes.
RealOpen issues a Proof of Funds letter. It states the buyer's name, the date and the dollar amount available. You now have a verified cash buyer.
You write the offer. On an all-cash purchase it is your standard cash contract, and the Proof of Funds goes with it.
The deal goes under contract. Title, inspections and escrow run the way they always do. Apart from the small verification transfer, the buyer's crypto has not moved. It is still in their wallet.
The buyer sends RealOpen the signed contract and escrow's wiring instructions. RealOpen quotes the exact amount of crypto needed, including its fee, and provides a deposit address.
The buyer funds. They send crypto to the deposit address. RealOpen converts it to dollars through an OTC trading desk and wires the dollars to escrow. Escrow typically has the money within hours.
You close. Escrow disburses, the deed records, and you are paid at closing like any other sale.

Module 8 walks this sequence as a working checklist, with the timing and the seventeen things that derail it.

Who does what

Party	What they do	What changes for them
Buyer	Verifies identity and wallet, signs the contract, sends crypto at funding	They fund with crypto instead of from a bank account
You, the buyer's agent	Qualify the buyer, write and negotiate the offer, manage the deal	You ask for verification instead of a bank letter
RealOpen	Verifies the buyer, issues the Proof of Funds, converts the crypto, wires dollars to escrow	This is the whole of RealOpen's role
Title or escrow	Opens the file, receives a wire, closes and disburses	Nothing. Crypto never enters their account
Listing agent and seller	Review a cash offer with proof of funds and receive dollars at closing	Nothing

The contract

Use your standard purchase contract. On an all-cash purchase that is your standard cash contract. When the buyer is financing, it is the same financed contract you would write for any borrower, and the crypto covers the down payment. Either way, RealOpen's process needs no crypto addendum and no custom clause. The price is stated in dollars and the seller is paid in dollars. The contract is between the buyer and the seller, and RealOpen is not a party to it.

Two practical notes:

RealOpen's compliance process requires a copy of the contract and, later, the closing statement. The buyer provides them, and you may be asked to help.
Earnest money can be paid the ordinary way or funded through RealOpen. A buyer who wants to fund it with crypto should be fully verified first and should tell RealOpen as soon as the offer is being written. On a financed purchase, have the buyer check with the lender first, because agency mortgage guidelines treat earnest money differently from the down payment.

Your commission, and whether RealOpen is a brokerage

Agents ask this first, so here is the complete answer.

RealOpen does not represent buyers or sellers. It has no agents. Your client stays your client, and you are the agent of record.

RealOpen does hold a real estate brokerage license, for two reasons only. It lets RealOpen legally receive referral fees, and it provides MLS data for the listings on its site.

The money works in one of two ways:

You brought the client. RealOpen takes nothing from your commission. Its fee is a processing fee paid by the buyer: 1% of the amount funded for assets like Bitcoin and Ether, and 2% for stablecoins. The buyer also pays the blockchain's network fee on their transfer.
RealOpen referred the buyer to you. A standard referral fee applies, agreed in writing before you receive the client. Module 7 covers how that works.

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.