Roy Niederhoffer, President of New York-based R.G. Niederhoffer Capital Management, Inc. has placed his $15.9 million mansion up for sale stating that he will accept cash or its equivalent in bitcoin. The 10,720-square-foot, 32-foot-wide property located on 40, Riverside Drive comprising a mansion of three units cost him $12.9 million in 2013 and is up for sale with Cathy Taub of Sotheby’s International Realty and Dexter Guerrieri and Nicole Kats of Vandenberg at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

Desire to Own More Bitcoin

Niederhoffer, who is also the board chairman of both the New York City Opera and a not-for-profit Harmony Program, has expressed his confidence in Bitcoin saying: “Whatever the obligations and brokers’ fees are, I will pay in cash and keep the bitcoin”. Explaining his decision, Niederhoffer revealed that his key motivation is that he wants to own more bitcoin.

According to Bloomberg, Niederhoffer bought the property in 2013 when he needed a place to live while proceeding with the long-term renovation of a house in Manhattan. At the time, he and his family were living in a rental which he considered temporary. It was around this time that all three units of the Riverside Drive mansion became available for sale. With a significant drop in price and having admired the mansion for decades and considered them one of the best in New York, he acquired the property.

Property Details

The mansion belongs to a set of houses described by the New York Times as “the gold coast of the Upper West Side”. They were developed by Clarence True, a 19th century architect who also worked as a developer. Completed around 1897, the mansion comprises five floors, five original bathrooms, and an elevator according to an article by New York historian Tom Miller.

Sited on the northeast corner of Riverside Drive; the mansion overlooks the Riverside Park, the Hudson River, and New Jersey. The house was originally purchased by congressman and serial entrepreneur, Henry C. Miner, owner of drugstore, many theaters and investments in locomotive companies. Successive owners had taken over the property before it was used as a preschool building in the late 1930s and eventually converted into multiple residences. While some parts remained totally intact when Niederhoffer acquired and combined them, some of the apartments had been stripped of the initial details therein.

Earlier in October, CryptoGlobe reported that the international real estate company Colliers announced plans to place properties on the Stellar blockchain, as the real estate industry joins a growing number of industries finding new ways to integrate blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies into their everyday operations.