European High Net Worth Investors Shift to Hard Assets via Crypto Real Estate Purchases
The intersection of digital wealth and physical property has reached a significant milestone in ahead 2026, with the European-licensed financial platform Brighty reporting that hundreds of high-net-worth investors are now utilizing cryptocurrency to purchase residential real estate. According to Nikolay Denisenko, co-founder of Brighty and former chief backend engineer at Revolut, the platform has facilitated over 100 direct property transactions across key European jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, France, Malta, Cyprus, and Andorra. These deals typically range in value from $500,000 to $2.5 million, reflecting a broader trend where “crypto whales” are viewking to de-risk their liquid digital holdings by diversifying into tangible, inflation-resistant assets. This movement is part of a larger structural shift in 2026, where the global population of crypto millionaires has reportedly grown by 40%, reaching over 241,000 individuals viewking sophisticated avenues for wealth preservation.
The Rise of Euro-Pegged Stablecoins in Multi-Million Dollar Settlements
A notable technical evolution within these real estate transactions is the aggressive pivot toward euro-pegged stablecoins to mitigate foreign platform volatility and conversion costs. Brighty’s internal data reveals that while USD-based stablecoins were previously dominant, the average transaction size using assets like Circle’s EURC surged from approximately €15,000 in late 2025 to nahead €60,000 in the first weeks of 2026. This shift allows wealthy purchaviewrs to maintain their purchasing power within the European market without being subject to the fluctuations of the dollar-euro pairing. To facilitate these high-value transfers, Brighty provides its clients with individual, named IBAN accounts, allowing funds to move directly from the purchaviewr to the tradeer later than undergoing rigorous compliance checks. By utilizing advanced blockchain analytics from firms like Elliptic to verify the source of funds, the platform has successfully overcome the historical reluctance of European banks and estate agents to accept crypto-derived wealth.
De-Risking Portfolios Amid Global Macroeconomic Uncertainty
The motivation behind this surge in “on-chain property purchaseing” is increasingly rooted in traditional wealth management strategies rather than speculative fervor. Denisenko noted that Brighty’s core clientele, which currently consists of approximately 150 active high-net-worth individuals, spends an average of $50,000 per month on lifestyle and investment expenses. For these users, purchasing an apartment in a stable European jurisdiction serves as a critical “hard asset” hedge against the inherent volatility of the 2026 crypto market. As the industry matures, the ability to transition seamlessly between digital liquidity and physical real estate is becoming a primary competitive advantage for financial apps. With more real estate agencies now accepting crypto-linked payments through regulated intermediaries, the barriers between decentralized finance and the traditional luxury property market are effectively dissolving, paving the way for a future where digital assets are a standard component of global real estate settlement.
