Alberta home priced to sell in bitcoins

Crypto-currency exists only electronically

Like countless young men around the world, Taylor More likes sports and hanging out with friends. And if his latest project pans out, he’ll be the first person to sell a house for bitcoins.

He’s already drawn worldwide attention after placing an online ad for his property in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., a small community in the southwestern corner of the province. The story has been picked up by the BBC in Britain, ABC in the U.S., as well as numerous Canadian news outlets.

Mr. More’s two-bedroom bungalow “with beautiful mountain views” is priced at the equivalent of $405,000 in bitcoins, though he concedes he would consider conventional Canadian dollars.

A so-called crypto-currency that exists only electronically, bitcoin was created in 2009 and has grown in popularity, becoming the darling of hipsters, digital enthusiasts and, increasingly, doubtful types who value the anonymity and ease of doing business it provides.

But it has yet to catch on more broadly, partly because of concerns around security — bitcoin exchanges are regularly hacked — and volatility, the bitcoin value rising in the past few years from less than $10 to more than $70.

“Currently, I’m a currency trader but I see myself more as an entrepreneur,” Mr. More said in an interview from his home outside Nashville, Tenn., adding that he’s looking at “starting some new ventures that have to do with bitcoin” although he declines to offer details.

The son of NHL star Jayson More, who played for several teams including the San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers before retiring at the end of the 1990 s, Mr. More, who is 22, says he dropped out of high school after Grade 9, eventually completing his education on-line before becoming a businessman.

“Once I was done with school I kind of said hey, let’s give this currency trading thing a try and ended up really liking it. I took a few hits when I first started but you just keep plugging away at it and even- tually you get the hang of it and now I’m starting to really enjoy it.”

Although born in the U.S., Mr. More says his parents are Canadian and he frequently travels to this country visiting friends and relatives.

An avid hockey player for the first 17 years of his life, he says the sport is still a part of his life.

The Crowsnest Pass property was in his mother’s family, and the plan to offer it for sale in bitcoins evolved over the past few weeks. Indeed, Mr. More only learned about the currency within the past month, after reading a report about a plan to develop a bitcoin ATM.

“I just though it would be cool to sell it for bitcoins” as you could get “a good chunk of them and they’re hard to find.”

In fact the currency is typically used for small online transactions though there are a few bricks and mortar stores mostly in the U.S. that accept it. His father was at first cautious about the plan to sell the property for bitcoins as he’d never heard of it before, but he’s since become an enthusiastic suppor ter, according to Mr. More.