Manila, Iloilo City, a city in the Philippines, is the first city in the Asia Pacific where 3 luxury residential properties were sold in exchange for cryptocurrencies in 2019. In particular, the houses were sold for Bitcoin and Litecoin. Iloilo, located in the Panay region of the Philippines, has a population of just over 2 million. World renowned for its Spanish colonial churches and old houses, it is the premier city in the Asia Pacific where three properties have been sold in exchange for Bitcoin and Litecoin. The city which is poised to become the leading Innovation Hub in the Philippines by 2030 is hailed as the Heart of the Philippines due to its central location in the country. Its capital, Iloilo City, has been dubbed as the ‘City of Love’, as its locals are known for being soft-spoken and sweet.
Three residential units that accept cryptocurrency or digital money as mode of payment are making the rounds on Filipino social media. The properties, all located in the central Philippine city of Iloilo, welcomed payments in Bitcoin or Litecoin. The properties sold included a 2-bedroom condominium unit near the city’s Esplanade River — one of the most iconic landmarks in Iloilo City, a 3-bedroom house in Lapaz, Iloilo, and 4-bedroom villa in Iloilo City. Proceeds of the sale were undisclosed and thought to have been donated and dispersed through her Monaco-based investment fund’s philanthropic efforts. The move of the three properties sold for cryptocurrencies paved the way for a major development and conversation towards real-world utility and other use-cases of Blockchain which now includes disrupting many decentralized industries including real estate, entertainment, gaming, among others.