Your buyer wants to pay with bitcoin. Here's the 10-minute version.

First, the part that matters: this closes as a cash deal. The buyer's crypto converts to dollars before or at closing, escrow receives a standard wire, and the seller gets USD — your contract, your timeline, and your commission all work exactly the way they always do. RealOpen never represents buyers or sellers — your client stays your client. Your actual job is the same as with any cash buyer: verify the funds are real before anyone writes an offer. The only new part is knowing what crypto verification looks like when it's done properly.

What a real crypto proof of funds shows

A lender- and listing-side-ready crypto proof of funds has three properties: verified wallet ownership (cryptographic verification — a signed message or confirmed test transfer — not a balance screenshot), a USD value with a volatility adjustment rather than a raw spot-price number, and an issuer and document ID that a third party can verify independently. A screenshot of a wallet or exchange balance proves none of these — anyone can screenshot anything.

Key Points

  • Ownership: proven cryptographically, not claimed
  • Value: volatility-adjusted USD, not a spot-price screenshot
  • Verifiability: document ID any third party can check with the issuer
  • Time to produce, done properly: about 15 minutes

It's a cash deal with extra provenance

Escrow and title don't handle bitcoin, and they don't need to: conversion to USD happens upstream, and closing runs on received good funds like every other cash transaction — the full mechanics are in the closing process explainer. What crypto changes is the provenance question before the offer: instead of a bank letter, you're looking at a verification document for assets that live on a blockchain.

How to verify the funds are real

Ask for a verifiable proof of funds and check it. With a RealOpen Proof of Funds letter, that means the document carries an ID you can verify directly — confirming it's authentic, unaltered, and current. One point that trips up agents new to this: verification doesn't require the buyer to move anything. Funds are verified where they sit — cold storage included — so "my bitcoin is in a hardware wallet" is not a red flag. An unverifiable screenshot is. So is a buyer who resists third-party verification, or one whose plan requires the seller to accept actual bitcoin.

The longer agent playbook — red flags, qualifying questions, timing — is in how to qualify crypto buyers.

What to tell the listing side

Keep it boring, because it is: "This is a cash offer. The buyer's funds are verified by a third party — here's the proof of funds, and here's where you can verify the document yourself. Escrow receives a standard wire; the seller receives dollars." If the listing agent wants more, the seller-side version of this page exists precisely so you don't have to explain custody models at a kitchen table: someone offered crypto for your house — how that actually works.

Send your buyer to get verified — Proof of Funds in 15 minutes

Frequently asked questions