Upper East Side townhouse asks $30M in U.S. dollars or $45M in Bitcoin
Last month, New York City had its first cryptocurrency real estate closing. The next week, an owner of the Plaza floated the idea of selling a “Plaza Token” to a group of foreign investors. Now, hedge fund founder and tech investor Claudio Guazzoni de Zanett, the owner of the landmarked townhouse at 10 East 76th Street, is asking one price in US dollars and a higher value in digital currencies due to their volatility. He is willing to accept bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple. “I’m a true believer in these networks, but it’s very volatile,” Zanett told the Wall Street Journal. “They could be down 60% in two weeks.”
Mr. de Zanett, the owner of the hedge fund Zanett Asset Management, was a Blockchain seed and angel investor. He purchased the six-story Beaux-Arts townhouse back in 1994. For 24 years, the mansion served as a “family compound” for Mr. Zanett’s family, which allowed for extended family and close friends to live together under the same roof and yet, living separately with a certain amount of privacy.
Zanett and his wife Julia were fined $8,000 last March for listing rooms in the home online as rental units. The couple has listed as many as five units at a time on property websites, such as HomeAway and VRBO, for short-term stays starting at about $500. New York State law forbids short-term rentals in multiple-unit buildings for fewer than 30 days unless the owner is also living in the rented unit.
The limestone mansion boasts 12,380 interior square feet, 2,500 exterior square feet, and 13-foot majestic ceilings. The home was built in 1904 by architects Schwartz and Gross, renowned for building The Mark and The Surrey hotels. Today, it’s zoned for residential or residential with professional space on the garden floor. Beyond the reception gallery, through a private door, leads to what was formerly three professional offices.
There are 12 working wood-burning fireplaces, including two outdoor fireplaces located on the sixth floor, and roof terraces that have 360-degree views of Manhattan’s skyline.
The expansive Lower Level is built-out the full length and width of the building lot and has a laundry facility, staff room quarters, storage, mechanical storage and a vast vault under the sidewalk that partially extends underneath East 76th Street.
As 6sqft recently explained, “The digital nature of cryptocurrencies makes [real estate] transactions much faster. It can be completed in minutes or hours.” Let’s see how long this property stays on the market…
[Listing: 10 East 76th Street by Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group]
[Listing: 10 East 76th Street by Valerie Lettan of Douglas Elliman]
[Via WSJ]
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Listing photos courtesy of the Corcoran Group
Bitcoin photo via Good Free Photos
