 Bitcoin is an experimental virtual currency that mysteriously appeared in 2009 when a programmer operating under a pseudonym introduced it on a cryptography mailing list. Since then, Bitcoin has gotten more and more popular. The price of a single Bitcoin has peaked at over $1,000, and there are about 10 million Bitcoins in circulation. Jack and Laura Sommer are selling their lavish home in Las Vegas for $7.85 million, and they're accepting Bitcoin. If a Bitcoin buyer comes forward, this would be the single largest transaction in the currency ever. Hi, we're Jack and Laura Sommer. I'm Laura Heasjie. The house grosses out at about 25,000 square feet, including a separate guest villa, which is about 3,000 square feet. And we are on about, well, it's over an acre, but these are golf course lots, and it's listed for $7.85 million. We've added the dynamic of accepting, in addition to other currencies, I suppose, but Bitcoin as an acceptable currency for this transaction. One of my sons said, you know, dad, you should expect, wouldn't you accept Bitcoin? I said, sure. He said, well, why don't you tell the world? Because you'll get more exposure for your property, and it's a pretty exciting thing to do. So about a minute later, I went to the video that I had produced on an uplink to YouTube, and I put in the tag, you know, Bitcoin accepted. We're getting a lot of attention. We're getting a lot of attention. Obviously, I monitor the amount of views on the video, and it jumped. So that's kind of cool. That's very interesting. Tell me about it. What's Bitcoin? Yes. That's typically the reaction. It's a very simulated questions about the space. And I think that's positive. It's healthy. It's healthy. It's positive for the real estate. It's obviously positive for Bitcoin. But I think Bitcoin, the Bitcoin universe is far larger than just us. But I think it's a good move. Somebody would suggest interest in the house. I assume they would come and take a look at it and say, oh, my God, I love this place. Or this is cool. It's good for me. And they would give us an offer through the broker in US dollar and probably make reference to an equivalent amount in Bitcoin. And it would just be perfunctory after that. And as I said, as you get closer to the closing date, we will have already chosen a conversion entity and it will close. It's not that complicated, really. I mean, if somebody, as I said, comes in euros or yen, I mean, there's swings there with the dollar. It's the same thing. Yeah, it could be a blend. Part cash, part bit. Why not? Using Bitcoin is tricky, especially for large transactions, because the price jumps around so much. A single Bitcoin was worth $20 in February of 2013, but by the end of the year, it had jumped to over $1,200. The contract for the Summers house will have to account for any price swings during the 30 days it takes to close on the sale of a house. And they'll have to cash out most of the currency relatively quickly in order to avoid taking on too much risk. There are plenty of things that could go wrong. The US government could outlaw the currency or a technical flaw could be found. But with more people like the Summers using Bitcoin, the dream of a universal internet currency seems like it could maybe work. How much do you think you would keep in Bitcoin? Well, then I would be telling you what my speculation would be. Not much. I don't know, maybe 100 grand or something like that. Oh, I think more. If the coins are at that point, when they went down, I'd be grabbing everyone I could get. Left undisturbed by government, we'll say, I think Bitcoin is viable indefinitely. The volatility will probably slow down and will probably stabilize at levels where both owners and buyers of Bitcoin and more importantly, vendors and other commercial enterprises will feel more comfortable accepting Bitcoin as tender. That will stabilize the currency. The value of Bitcoin is not going to be changed by announcements of unemployment data or war or anything like that. So that's kind of one of the pluses of this concept. It's huge as our economy is and as all the dollars that are out there. You can see pretty significant fluctuations with a good jobs report or something like that or a good GDP number. But I don't look at it as a stunt or a very short term, you know, yeah, I'll do it. Ah, forget it. I'm not going to do it. As long as Bitcoin maintains the viability that it seems to be maintaining, we're there. It's a currency. It is a currency for our purposes at this time.
 Bitcoin is an experimental virtual currency that mysteriously appeared in 2009 when a
 programmer operating under a pseudonym introduced it on a cryptography mailing list.
 Since then, Bitcoin has gotten more and more popular.
 The price of a single Bitcoin has peaked at over $1,000, and there are about 10 million
 Bitcoins in circulation.
 Jack and Laura Sommer are selling their lavish home in Las Vegas for $7.85 million, and they're
 accepting Bitcoin.
 If a Bitcoin buyer comes forward, this would be the single largest transaction in the currency
 ever.
 Hi, we're Jack and Laura Sommer.
 I'm Laura Heasjie.
 The house grosses out at about 25,000 square feet, including a separate guest villa, which
 is about 3,000 square feet.
 And we are on about, well, it's over an acre, but these are golf course lots, and it's listed
 for $7.85 million.
 We've added the dynamic of accepting, in addition to other currencies, I suppose, but Bitcoin
 as an acceptable currency for this transaction.
 One of my sons said, you know, dad, you should expect, wouldn't you accept Bitcoin?
 I said, sure.
 He said, well, why don't you tell the world?
 Because you'll get more exposure for your property, and it's a pretty exciting thing
 to do.
 So about a minute later, I went to the video that I had produced on an uplink to YouTube,
 and I put in the tag, you know, Bitcoin accepted.
 We're getting a lot of attention.
 We're getting a lot of attention.
 Obviously, I monitor the amount of views on the video, and it jumped.
 So that's kind of cool.
 That's very interesting.
 Tell me about it.
 What's Bitcoin?
 Yes.
 That's typically the reaction.
 It's a very simulated questions about the space.
 And I think that's positive.
 It's healthy.
 It's healthy.
 It's positive for the real estate.
 It's obviously positive for Bitcoin.
 But I think Bitcoin, the Bitcoin universe is far larger than just us.
 But I think it's a good move.
 Somebody would suggest interest in the house.
 I assume they would come and take a look at it and say, oh, my God, I love this place.
 Or this is cool.
 It's good for me.
 And they would give us an offer through the broker in US dollar and probably make reference
 to an equivalent amount in Bitcoin.
 And it would just be perfunctory after that.
 And as I said, as you get closer to the closing date, we will have already chosen a conversion
 entity and it will close.
 It's not that complicated, really.
 I mean, if somebody, as I said, comes in euros or yen, I mean, there's swings there with
 the dollar.
 It's the same thing.
 Yeah, it could be a blend.
 Part cash, part bit.
 Why not?
 Using Bitcoin is tricky, especially for large transactions, because the price jumps around
 so much.
 A single Bitcoin was worth $20 in February of 2013, but by the end of the year, it had
 jumped to over $1,200.
 The contract for the Summers house will have to account for any price swings during the
 30 days it takes to close on the sale of a house.
 And they'll have to cash out most of the currency relatively quickly in order to avoid taking
 on too much risk.
 There are plenty of things that could go wrong.
 The US government could outlaw the currency or a technical flaw could be found.
 But with more people like the Summers using Bitcoin, the dream of a universal internet
 currency seems like it could maybe work.
 How much do you think you would keep in Bitcoin?
 Well, then I would be telling you what my speculation would be.
 Not much.
 I don't know, maybe 100 grand or something like that.
 Oh, I think more.
 If the coins are at that point, when they went down, I'd be grabbing everyone I could
 get.
 Left undisturbed by government, we'll say, I think Bitcoin is viable indefinitely.
 The volatility will probably slow down and will probably stabilize at levels where both
 owners and buyers of Bitcoin and more importantly, vendors and other commercial enterprises will
 feel more comfortable accepting Bitcoin as tender.
 That will stabilize the currency.
 The value of Bitcoin is not going to be changed by announcements of unemployment data or war
 or anything like that.
 So that's kind of one of the pluses of this concept.
 It's huge as our economy is and as all the dollars that are out there.
 You can see pretty significant fluctuations with a good jobs report or something like
 that or a good GDP number.
 But I don't look at it as a stunt or a very short term, you know, yeah, I'll do it.
 Ah, forget it.
 I'm not going to do it.
 As long as Bitcoin maintains the viability that it seems to be maintaining, we're there.
 It's a currency.
 It is a currency for our purposes at this time.