Coinbase founder buys Bel Air manse for $133M

UPDATED, Jan. 3, 6 p.m. ET: Well this was a nice Christmas present.

On December 22, a luxury Bel Air compound with a main house designed by the English architect John Pawson quietly traded hands for a smashing $133 million.

The buyer was Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The seller was Hideki Tomita, the Japanese founder of Dip Corporation, a job search agency. The sale marked a major score for Tomita, who bought the compound for $85 million in 2018.

The sale was first reported by Dirt , and the buyer was first revealed by the Wall Street Journal.

The nearly-five-acre property ranks among the choicest even in tony Bel Air, with one 19,000-square-foot main house and a 6,600-square-foot “guest mansion,” along with a tennis court, two pools, motor court and amenities that include a home theater and gym.

In line with Pawson’s famous style, the property’s main house is decidedly minimalist, with a “stacked-cube” structure marked by rectangular lines and large glass walls. The home’s interior is similarly uncluttered, and includes expansive oak furnishings. The property also features sweeping views of Downtown L.A.

[Dirt] — Trevor Bach 

Amplification: This story was updated to add the identity of Brian Amstrong as the buyer of the property.

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6 percent of Bel Air on discount