Cryptofinance firm buys waterfront commercial condo to move HQ to Miami

XBTO paid nearly $1K psf for the bayfront unit

XBTO CEO Philippe Bekhazi and Two Roads Development's Reid Boren with 2955 Northeast Seventh Avenue (Google Maps)
XBTO CEO Philippe Bekhazi and Two Roads Development's Reid Boren with 2955 Northeast Seventh Avenue (Google Maps)

Cryptofinance firm XBTO Group is moving its headquarters to Miami.

The New York-based firm paid $5.4 million for a waterfront commercial condo at Biscayne Beach in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Two Roads Development, which built the 51-story tower, sold the 5,400-square-foot space, said Arden Karson of Karson & Co., who brokered the deal. It traded for $976 per square foot.

Arden Karson

Arden Karson

XBTO Group could not immediately be reached for comment.

The commercial unit at 2955 Northeast Seventh Avenue hit the market last year for $6 million with Karson and Douglas Elliman’s David Restainer.

Two Roads had used the space as a sales gallery for its nearby condo tower Elysee Miami. It had planned to lease or sell the unit to a restaurant — until the pandemic hit.

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The condo includes an additional 2,400 square feet of outdoor space overlooking the bay and 15 parking spaces, and features high ceilings and a private entrance. The space was designed by French interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot, who’s handling the interior design of Elysee.

David Restainer

David Restainer

A number of companies and wealthy executives are moving to South Florida, driven by tax benefits and incentives the state offers. Prior to Covid, Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Property Trust moved to Miami Beach, and Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises set up a new home base in Sunny Isles Beach.

Blackstone has expanded its footprint in Miami, and Microsoft, Citadel and Elliott Management are all in talks to lease space in South Florida.

Scott Minerd, a managing partner at the global investment firm Guggenheim Partners, recently paid $12.5 million for two penthouses at Biscayne Beach, taking the entire 51st floor of the building. Minerd is relocating from California.

Cryptocurrency firms may also be encouraged by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s push to make the city a crypto-friendly town. Suarez has proposed giving city employees the option to be paid in Bitcoin, and proposed investing city funds in the cryptocurrency.