Elon Musk Said To Be Eyeing $100 Million Penthouse Purchase At The Bristol in West Palm Beach

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX, is said to be eyeing a stunning penthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. The luxurious 19,000 square-foot penthouse, located at the Bristol on S. Flagler Dr., is listed at a jaw-dropping $100 million, which would shatter all previous real estate records in the area.

If Musk’s rumored purchase is completed it would mark a significant milestone in the transformation of West Palm Beach into a high-end luxury condo market. The city, long overshadowed by its affluent neighbor Palm Beach, has seen a surge in development in recent years, with a growing number of luxury high-rise buildings and thousands of new units in the pipeline. The Bristol, where the penthouse is located, kickstarted this condo momentum when beauty mogul Sydell Miller purchased a unit for $42.6 million in 2019. Since then, several new luxury developments have popped up in the area such as Related Ross’s South Flagler House and Two Roads Development’s Forte. With a mix of luxury rentals and condos, West Palm Beach is quickly becoming a desirable destination for the ultra-wealthy.

PROFILE Insider: The Crypto Revolution Versus The Evolution Of Blockchain In Real Estate Part 1

When it comes to understanding cryptocurrency and blockchain, nearly the entire world is in the dark. Bitcoin is stored on the first blockchain and was first released in 2009. Although over the past decade both Bitcoin and blockchain have became more mainstream, the crypto and blockchain worlds are still in their infancy. The real estate world has been forced to adapt faster than most as the demand to use cryptocurrency for real estate transactions has “gone to the moon,” and blockchain developers have created digital databases that streamline and secure every aspect of the real estate industry.

Miami has quickly become the Cryptocity, and is becoming a cryptocurrency and blockchain hub led by Mayor Francis Suarez. Mayor Suarez’s goals include turning Miami into a Bitcoin mining hub by using the city’s nuclear power capability. He is also working towards allowing the use of Bitcoin to pay for tax and public services, as well as a salary option for city employees. Mayor Suarez set his focus on a Miami tech boom following the COVID-19 pandemic and has been working to attract the top tech and investment firms from San Francisco, Silicon Valley and New York City. The effort has paid off shown by taxable property values in Miami having doubled over the past decade as high-paying jobs have been attracted to the weather, beaches, restaurants, nightlife, low-tax and high-quality of life.

As Miami and Crypto have rapidly become synonymous, in honor Miami Crypto Week and following a PROFILEmiami Instagram Story Poll in which 41% of our followers reported investing in cryptocurrency, we wanted to make sure that none of the PROFILEmiami community was in the dark when it came to blockchain, cryptocurrency and real estate. In this three part PROFILE Insider series we will explore the differences between blockchain and cryptocurrency, how both apply to the real estate industry and how Miami is working towards becoming the center of what could be crypto’s “golden age.”

Part 1: Blockchain versus Cryptocurrency

Understanding the difference between blockchain and cryptocurrency is essential. A blockchain is a publicly distributed digital ledger that is managed by a peer-to-peer network using cryptography. It is comprised of an ever-growing list of records which tracks the history and dates of transactions, ownership or occurrences of anything or any process stored on that blockchain.

Each record is known as a “block,” and can store the data of anything from Bitcoin to a real estate deed to a property and its history to the tracking of food from farm-to-table. Each block is timestamped and once stored cannot be modified without modifying all ensuing blocks.

The blockchain was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and that specific blockchain became the public transaction ledger for the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. To date Satoshi Nakamoto is unidentified and it is unknown if the name represents a person or a group.

A cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange of digital assets which are denominated as “coins,” which represent ownership of that digital currency. A coin is a verifiable record stored on a decentralized blockchain of cryptography. Cryptocurrencies appeal to many due to being decentralized from governments and the central banking systems. Different cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple (XRP), Tether, Aave, Internet Computer, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Polygon, amongst thousands of others known as “altcoins.”

In a transaction the transfer of the value between each party gets validated and stored on a new block, leaving behind a signature known as a private key, or seed. The validation process, known as “mining,” occurs when a transaction is broadcast to the cryptocurrency network and the transaction is confirmed by high-powered computers solving extremely complex computational math codes which maintain the validity of the ledger of transactions. As the computers solve the codes successful miners will produce cryptocurrency as a reward. Cryptocurrencies can be traded directly from wallet to wallet but also be traded similar to stocks or exchanged for Fiat currency such as the US dollar or other cryptocurrencies on exchanges such as Coinbase, FTX and Kraken.

Cryptocurrencies are stored on digital wallets. There are two types, a “hot wallet” and a “cold wallet.” Hot wallets are run on internet-connected devices such as phones or computers. They are very easy to use and transact with as they are usually an app on your phone, but for this reason they also lack security and can be easy to hack or physically forced access in a theft. Top hot wallets include the Coinbase Wallet, Electrum and Exodus.

“Cold wallets,” also known as “hard wallets,” are fully offline devices that are not connected to the internet, therefore much more secure. Many look like a usb drive or a smartphone, which store the user’s private keys on the secured piece of hardware. A 24-word recovery code is the only back-up for the private keys once transferred onto the hardware wallet. One of the most popular is the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X wallets which use a proprietary OS designed to provide the highest level of security to protect your crypto assets.

Between the top three popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is seen as an investment-grade asset similar to gold and has the potential to become the first global currency; Ethereum is a complex blockchain which is evolving to become the first global computing platform; and Dogecoin, multi-billionaire Crypto enthusiast and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s favorite coin. Dogecoin is a “memecoin” meaning it was started as a joke but is now considered by some to be a legitimate investment asset.

As of June 6 2021 Bitcoin had a market cap of $676.13 billion, Ethereum of $314.56 billion and Dogecoin of $48.14 billion. Bitcoin has reached as high as $64,829 per coin in April 2021 before dropping down to the mid-$30,000’s in May 2021. Etherem reached a high of $4,380 in early May 2021 before retreating to the mid-$2,000’s. The cryptocurrency markets continue to grow in populating amongst both institutional investors and retail traders and something as a simple tweet from Elon Musk can send the crypto markets into a frenzy.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our three part PROFILE Insider series where we will explore both cryptocurrency and blockchains application to real estate.

Magic City Tech Boom? Microsoft In Negotiations At 830 Brickell And Elon Musk Wants To Build Tunnels Under Miami

Miami, the magic city, is on track to become the next Silicon Valley as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has brought people flocking to South Florida. Florida saw the second highest population growth over any other state in 2020, following Texas, adding over 240,000 new residents in a single year. The influx of new residents is being driven by those looking to take advantage of remote-working opportunities or seek a state that has let business remain open and has pro-business tax structure. This has led to Miami and Palm Beach real estate pricing and absorption reaching near record highs.

Not only are the new residents flocking from the high-tax New York, at the same time as South Florida’s population boom, the San Francisco Bay Area has seen an exodus of venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs. Mayor Francis Suarez has opened up the city to tech entrepreneurs and has expressed interest in bringing innovative companies to the magic city and making Miami a global tech hub. Mayor Suarez recently announced he will be appointing a Chief Technology Officer for the city.

Miami’s office market is being a surge in demand and setting record high pricing. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is one of the major tech firms looking to move to Miami, the multinational software provider is actively in negotiations to lease 30,000 square feet of space at OKO Group’s 830 Brickell, a 56-story office tower adjacent to Brickell City Centre which is currently under construction. Pricing is still relatively cheap compared to other major markets, asking rates at 830 Brickell are reportedly in the $70’s PSF range. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities hedge fund is also reportedly looking at office space in 830 Brickell as is the Chicago-based law firm Baker McKenzie.

The biggest news came when Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that he had talked with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about building a tunnel system underneath Miami to eliminate traffic and pollution. Mayor Suarez tweed that “we will do it,” and invited Musk to visit him at City Hall. In the past Miami has had success building tunnels at a comparatively low cost. The initiative would be led by Elon Musk’s Boring Company, who is getting ready to reveal the Vegas Loop to the public, a 4,475’ tunnel loop under the Las Vegas Convention Center. In the Las Vegas Loop passengers will reach speeds up to 155 mph and will ride in Tesla Model X’s, Model 3’s, and a 16-passenger modified Model 3. Las Vegas in now working with the Boring Company to build a citywide network of tunnels.

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