Buying a $1.67M Hawaii home with crypto and zero liquidation

It’s not every day that your dream home pops up at the perfect price, just not at the perfect time.

That’s what happened to my client, a California-based investor with several rental properties under his belt. He wasn’t new to real estate or crypto, but he found himself stuck between them. His long-term plan was to offload multiple rentals and roll the equity into a single, higher-end investment property in Hawaii. The market had been slow. The properties hadn’t sold yet. And then the opportunity showed up: a $1,675,000 single-family home on the Big Island.

The problem? He didn’t have enough liquid assets to make the purchase, and he was already carrying mortgages on three other properties. Traditional lenders wouldn’t touch it.

We spoke the same day he found the home. He knew what he wanted; he just needed a way to act now. That’s where the crypto mortgage came in.

Instead of waiting for his properties to sell or liquidating his Bitcoin portfolio, he pledged his crypto as collateral and financed 100% of the purchase price. That 1:1 ratio, loan amount to purchase price, is something you rarely see in crypto-backed lending. Most platforms cap out at 50 to 65% loan-to-value, limiting what a borrower can actually buy.

In this case, the full purchase was covered. No cash down. No delays.

His crypto was securely held in institutional-grade custody, not moved, not lent out, and never at risk of being rehypothecated. He retains full ownership and all the upside. Once he pays down the loan, he gets all of his crypto back, including any gains it accrued while held as collateral.

His plan now is to sell the other rental properties on his timeline, use the proceeds to pay down the loan, and release some of the pledged BTC along the way. It gives him flexibility across both portfolios, real estate and crypto, without being forced into quick sales or missed opportunities.

This transaction wasn’t just about financing a home in Hawaii. It was about solving a timing problem with a long-term asset strategy. He kept his crypto. He secured the property. He avoided the typical bottlenecks that come with traditional lending. When you have the right tools in place, the right timing doesn’t have to wait.

The opinions expressed in the Blog are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.