Crypto Rent Payments Remain a Niche, but the Rules Are Catching Up
Stablecoins top $300 billion and the EU's MiCA rules now apply, yet paying rent in crypto remains rare. What tenants and landlords should know.
In May 2022, a three-bedroom apartment in Braga, in northern Portugal, changed hands for three bitcoins, then worth about 110,000 euros. According to the property portal Idealista, it was the first property deal in Portugal, and in Europe, completed entirely in cryptocurrency without conversion to euros, made possible by new rules from Portugal's Order of Notaries issued the previous month.
The sale was a milestone, but it was also an exception. Years after landlords in places such as Dubai began announcing that they would accept bitcoin, paying rent in cryptocurrency remains uncommon. What has changed is the infrastructure around it: a large market for dollar-pegged stablecoins, payment processors that convert crypto into conventional currency for merchants and, in the European Union, a comprehensive set of rules for the companies that handle crypto-assets.
Early adopters, limited uptake
Interest in crypto rent payments is not new. As early as January 2018, Samana Group's Star Business Centre in Dubai said it would accept bitcoin for office rent and service charges, according to Middle East Construction News. Gulf News reported on other Dubai property owners and brokers announcing similar plans in the period that followed.
Most such arrangements share one feature: the landlord does not hold the cryptocurrency. A payment processor receives the tenant's crypto and settles with the landlord in local currency. RentRemote uses this model through its partnership with BitPay, under which BitPay handles conversion and processing, so that RentRemote does not hold or transact in cryptocurrency directly.
Why stablecoins matter
Volatility has been the main obstacle. A tenant paying in bitcoin and a landlord expecting a fixed amount in euros face a price risk that neither side wants to carry. Stablecoins, tokens designed to track a currency such as the US dollar, reduce that risk, and their market has grown quickly. Total stablecoin supply exceeded $300 billion in October 2025, according to an analysis by Arkham Research, with Tether's USDT accounting for about 58 percent of the market and Circle's USDC for about 25 percent.
For international tenants, the appeal lies in speed and cost. Cross-border bank transfers can take several business days and often carry exchange-rate markups. The trade-off is that most stablecoins in circulation track the dollar, which leaves tenants and landlords who think in euros exposed to the exchange rate between the two currencies. For a tenant earning in dollars and renting in Lisbon or Barcelona, that exposure exists whichever payment method is used; the stablecoin simply moves the conversion to a different point in the chain.
The European rulebook
In the European Union, the regulatory picture has become clearer. The Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, began applying to issuers of stablecoins on June 30, 2024, and became fully applicable to crypto-asset service providers on December 30, 2024, according to the law firm Walkers. Firms that provide custody, exchange or transfer services for crypto-assets in the EU now need authorization and must meet prudential, conduct and anti-money-laundering requirements.
For landlords, the practical implication is that payments routed through an authorized provider come with clearer protections and compliance obligations. Anti-money-laundering checks already apply to property transactions. In the Braga sale, the parties had to document the source of the funds and the wallets used, and a deal above 200,000 euros would have had to be reported to the authorities, according to Idealista.
What tenants and landlords should weigh
For tenants, the main questions are cost and record-keeping. Network fees, processor fees and exchange spreads can offset any savings compared with a bank transfer, and a crypto payment still requires a receipt and a lease that states the rent in a conventional currency. Tax treatment varies by country, and spending cryptocurrency can itself have tax consequences, so tenants who pay this way should keep a record of each transaction.
For landlords, accepting crypto through a processor that settles in local currency removes most of the volatility risk while widening the pool of potential tenants. Holding crypto directly is a separate decision with separate risks. In either case, the lease should specify how the amount due is calculated, which exchange rate applies and at what moment.
Deposits raise a further question. A security deposit paid in cryptocurrency and returned months later may be worth more or less in euros than when it was paid. Fixing the deposit in a conventional currency, even when rent is paid in crypto, means that both sides know exactly what will be returned at the end of the tenancy.
A niche with a future
Crypto rent payments are unlikely to displace bank transfers soon. For internationally mobile tenants, including remote workers moving between countries, they nonetheless offer a useful option, and one that becomes more practical as regulation matures and stablecoins become easier to use. RentRemote accepts cryptocurrency through BitPay for its furnished monthly rentals, including in Barcelona and Lisbon.