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Caruso, a leading privately-owned real estate firm in the US, has joined the crypto bandwagon through a collaboration with Gemini, a renowned crypto exchange and custodian. A press release unveiled this news on April 7, noting that this partnership has seen Caruso make a significant investment in Bitcoin (BTC). Reportedly, this move is part of the company’s treasury management plans, and through it, Caruso has become the first US-based real estate firm to invest in BTC.
According to the news release, Caruso also intends to show its trust in the bright future of crypto sector by letting tenants in its residential and commercial properties pay rent in BTC. Allegedly, this integration is the start of a long-term collaboration between the two firms. With the help of Gemini, Caruso also intends to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the blockchain to its system. In doing so, the company hopes to engage millions of visitors that its properties accommodate.
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While both Caruso and Gemini refused to disclose how much the company had invested in BTC, a report detailed that 1% of Caruso Properties’ treasury is in BTC.
Innovative technologies to improve guest experience
Commenting on this bullish development, Rick Caruso, the founder and CEO of Caruso, said that through this partnership, the company hopes to create numerous avenues for interacting with visitors to its properties. Additionally, it aims to enhance the overall guest experience by offering blockchain-powered rewards. Rick concluded that while Caruso believes teaming up with Gemini will offer it endless options, the company also believes the blockchain and cryptocurrencies will unite people.
This news comes as crypto continues going mainstream after its stellar performance in the past few months. An example is Tesla, which bought £1.09 billion worth of BTC in February this year. Seeing as Tesla is Caruso’s tenant at The Americana at Brand complex in Glendale, its CEO, Elon Musk, might be the first person to pay the real estate firm rent in BTC.