When Grant Cardone, founder of Cardone Capital, announced that his real estate firm had acquired 1,000 Bitcoins worth approximately $102 million in June 2025, industry insiders raised eyebrows. Known for managing over $5.1 billion in real estate assets across 14,200 rental units and half a million square feet of commercial space, Cardone had long championed traditional property investment. But now, by embracing cryptocurrency, he signaled a new frontier: the convergence of stable, cash-yielding real estate and high-growth digital assets.
“We’re not replacing real estate,” Cardone clarified in a video posted to his 10X Network. “We’re hedging our long-term value against currency decay, inflation, and missing the future.”
By year-end, Cardone Capital plans to add 3,000 more Bitcoins to its balance sheet, bringing the firm’s total crypto holdings to more than $400 million. The move makes Cardone Capital the first real estate company to integrate a structured Bitcoin strategy into its portfolio, and it could fundamentally reshape how institutional investors, regulators, and policymakers view the boundaries of real estate finance.
Real Estate’s Conservative Core Meets Crypto Volatility
The real estate industry is typically slow to embrace financial innovations. REITs took years to gain traction. Crowdfunding only recently matured. Bitcoin, with its staggering price volatility (averaging 30-day annualized volatility of around 40% in June 2025), seems like a volatile bedfellow for the predictability real estate investors crave.
Yet Cardone’s thesis is simple: real estate provides dependable cash flow, while Bitcoin offers asymmetric upside. By funneling rental income into hybrid vehicles like the 10X Miami River Bitcoin Fund, Cardone is building what he calls a “dual-engine” portfolio.
It’s an idea that resonates with a younger generation of investors who cut their teeth on crypto apps rather than property ledgers. But it also raises deep questions about access, security, and regulation—especially in markets like Nigeria, where affordable housing remains a high-stakes national challenge.
Affordable Housing in Nigeria: What Cardone’s Move Means From Afar
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, faces an estimated housing deficit of over 22 million units. Government efforts to close this gap through initiatives like the National Housing Fund have fallen short, hampered by bureaucratic bottlenecks, land titling problems, and weak mortgage access.
Could a Cardone-style hybrid fund work in Abuja or Lagos?
“Technically, yes,” says Festus Adebayo, Executive Director of the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), who has long campaigned for public-private synergy in housing finance. “But practically, no. Not with our current regulatory posture.”
Unlike in the U.S., where crypto regulation is fragmented but at least defined, Nigerian authorities have vacillated between crackdowns and cautious experimentation. The Central Bank of Nigeria banned crypto transactions in 2021, then later explored a government-backed digital currency, the eNaira. In that context, a developer leveraging Bitcoin as treasury reserve or investment capital would face not just legal ambiguity, but possible sanctions.
Still, the idea of financial innovation in the housing sector is gaining ground. Adebayo points to AIHS 2025, the Africa International Housing Show, where the role of fintech and blockchain in land registration and affordable housing delivery will headline panel discussions.
Cryptocurrency as a Hedge: Real or Theoretical?
Cardone is betting on Bitcoin not just as a speculative asset but as a store of value. With global fiat currencies under pressure, inflation eroding savings, and the dollar itself vulnerable to political and fiscal dysfunction, Bitcoin is seen by its proponents as a form of digital gold.
Historical data supports part of the narrative. Bitcoin has delivered a 10-year annualized return of approximately 60%. Yet those gains come with pain: the 2022 crash wiped over 65% from BTC’s value in a single year. Can a property fund withstand such shocks?
Cardone argues that it can, so long as BTC allocations remain proportionate and sourced from surplus income. “We’re not putting rent checks on the roulette table,” he said in a recent webinar.
His logic mirrors risk models in institutional finance: allocate a volatile asset alongside a stable one to boost overall returns while managing downside. If the hybrid works, it offers a playbook for developers in stable African economies like Rwanda or Kenya, where property demand meets growing crypto interest.
Regulation: The Knife’s Edge
No move as bold as Cardone’s goes unnoticed by regulators. Already, analysts expect scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The classification of Bitcoin—as property, currency, or commodity—has serious tax and compliance implications.
In the Nigerian context, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued frameworks for digital asset offerings but lacks robust enforcement power. Without clarity, developers and investors remain in limbo, especially on large-scale funds involving tokenized land or crypto-tied rents.
According to Chuka Ude, a financial analyst and partner at Lagos-based ThinkDelta Advisory, “Cardone’s move could become a global case study. If it succeeds, regulators may race to catch up. If it fails, they’ll cite it as a warning. Either way, it changes the conversation.”
Institutional Adoption and Its Implications
The Cardone strategy is a step-change from real estate’s traditional conservatism. Most firms stick with tangible assets, slow equity appreciation, and predictable income streams. Cardone is targeting a new investor class: accredited, crypto-savvy individuals who see value in blending asset classes.
It’s a risky bet. But first-mover advantage counts in finance. As with MicroStrategy in the tech sector, Cardone Capital is positioning itself as the real estate firm for a post-dollar world.
The model may be hard to replicate in full across African markets, where currency instability and institutional opacity often undermine investor confidence. But its philosophical appeal is hard to ignore.
In Nigeria, for example, the real estate sector could see selective adaptation: perhaps not Bitcoin treasuries, but blockchain-based land registries; not crypto-denominated funds, but smart contract-powered lease systems. These are innovations that AIHS 2025 is expected to explore in depth.
The Divide: Access and Equity
Bitcoin’s average unit price, currently above $102,000, creates a natural moat. Cardone’s model targets wealthy investors, reinforcing a troubling trend: financial innovation is often inaccessible to those it could benefit most.
Affordable housing in Nigeria is already skewed by class. Land in Abuja’s Gwarinpa or Lagos’s Lekki corridor is priced out of reach for most Nigerians. A crypto-backed model won’t fix that. It might even exacerbate it.
Yet as fintech matures, localized models might emerge. Think tokenized micro-payments for housing cooperatives or stablecoin-backed rent savings schemes. The blend of real estate and digital finance offers more than volatility—it offers possibility.
Global Housing, Fragmented Innovation
Emerging markets are not uniform. In El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, housing firms are experimenting with crypto payment systems. In Dubai, developers offer BTC options for luxury flats. In South Africa, fractional ownership startups use blockchain to attract diaspora capital.
Nigeria, with its youthful population and fintech prowess, could be next—if policymakers align incentives and frameworks. But until then, stories like Cardone’s feel more like inspiration than instruction.
Toward AIHS 2025: What Next for Nigeria?
Festus Adebayo believes the real battleground is credibility. “People don’t trust that they’ll get what they paid for—whether it’s a house or a coin,” he says. “We need transparency, whether it’s in budgets or blockchain.”
As AIHS 2025 approaches, attention will likely turn to how public and private actors can co-create a trustworthy, innovative housing sector. The takeaway from Cardone’s strategy isn’t Bitcoin itself. It’s the willingness to think differently.
For Nigeria’s housing crisis, thinking differently is no longer optional. It’s overdue.
FAQs
1. What is Cardone Capital’s Bitcoin strategy?
Cardone Capital is using rental income to acquire Bitcoin through a hybrid investment fund, aiming to balance stable real estate cash flows with Bitcoin’s growth potential.
2. Could this model be replicated in Nigeria?
Currently, no. Regulatory ambiguity and central bank restrictions on cryptocurrency prevent similar strategies from being legally viable in Nigeria.
3. Why does this matter for affordable housing in Nigeria?
It highlights how financial innovation could one day fund new housing models, even if the current regulatory climate in Nigeria prevents immediate adoption.
4. What are the main risks of blending crypto and real estate?
Volatility, regulatory uncertainty, tax complications, and investor skepticism are key risks, especially when crypto forms a large portion of the asset base.
5. What role will AIHS 2025 play in shaping Nigeria’s future housing market?
AIHS 2025 will spotlight tech-driven housing innovations, explore blockchain for land registration, and debate new models for public-private housing delivery.