Buy Real Estate with Crypto 2026 : How to Prove Your Funds Origin
Paul Stelizuk
01/30/2026
(01/23/2026)
You've built wealth in cryptocurrency and want to make a real estate project happen? You're not alone. In France, over 6 million people hold crypto assets, and a growing share seeks to convert these digital gains into tangible assets. Buying real estate with crypto has become a reality, but it still faces a major obstacle: compliance.
The first question any notary, real estate agent or banker will ask you is direct: "Where exactly do these funds come from?" This requirement isn't a whim. It's a legal obligation strictly regulated by European anti-money laundering regulations (AML-CFT) and the MiCA regulation. Unlike a traditional bank transfer whose origin is traceable from a verified account, a crypto transaction can appear opaque to traditional professionals.
The problem? Every year, dozens of crypto-funded real estate projects fail at the last minute. Not because the funds are illegal, but simply because their origin wasn't properly documented. The result: loss of deposit, blocked transaction, or even reporting to financial intelligence units.
The good news? Proving the origin of your crypto funds is perfectly achievable when you know the rules and prepare your file methodically. It's normal. It's mandatory. It's required from everyone, even with euro funds. And most importantly, it's the only way to convert your digital wealth into real estate serenely.
This article explains the legal compliance rules and how to meet them easily, step by step.
Why Is Funds Origin Such a Critical Issue?
French and European financial authorities strictly regulate money flows to combat money laundering and terrorism financing (AML-CFT).
But unlike a traditional bank transfer, a crypto transaction appears very opaque to a notary or banker. Hence their legitimate questions:
- Where exactly do these cryptos come from?
- How long have you held them?
- How were they acquired?
- With what funds were they acquired?
A professional who would accept your funds without verification exposes themselves to sanctions. A poorly prepared, poorly documented transaction can be blocked or cancelled at the last minute, which is costly and frustrating.
Crypto Compliance: Legal Requirements for Your Real Estate Purchase
Know Your Customer (KYC): A Shared Vigilance
Contrary to common belief, due diligence obligations don't only concern the notary. As regulated professionals under the Monetary and Financial Code (Art. L.561-2), real estate agents have a legal obligation to fight money laundering. They are themselves audited by regulatory authorities and must report any suspicion to financial intelligence units.
Before any transaction, all involved professionals (notary, agent, crypto service provider) are therefore required to perform thorough KYC procedures. This isn't limited to identity verification: it includes analyzing your activity, professional and financial situation, as well as the overall transaction consistency. This step is mandatory and conditions the process continuation. Without compliant KYC, the transaction is blocked.
Traceability and Documentation of Crypto Funds
In accordance with European regulations 2023/1113 and 2023/1114 (MiCA - https://www.amf-france.org/fr/actualites-publications/dossiers-thematiques/mica), the origin and path of funds must be demonstrated clearly and continuously. You need to be able to precisely justify:
- Initial purchase: proof of the euro funds source invested initially (savings, gift, property sale...).
- Capital formation and growth: (trading, mining, simple long-term holding...).
- Final wallet: precise identification of the wallet holding the funds intended for the transaction and which will be transferred.
This documentary clarity is essential. It allows tracing a direct link between your initial savings and the funds that will arrive at the notary's office, thus removing any suspicion of money laundering.
The Risks of Neglecting Compliance
Neglecting funds origin can transform your investment project into an administrative, fiscal or even legal nightmare. Here are the concrete consequences:
Transaction failure and loss of committed funds: The notary can refuse to sign the deed on D-day, potentially causing the loss of 10% of your deposit if the blockage is attributable to you.
Reclassification and tax penalties: Without sufficient documentation, tax authorities can reject the flat tax regime on crypto-asset capital gains and reclassify amounts as income of undetermined origin, resulting in taxation that can reach 60%.
Banking exclusion: Following reports, your bank may decide to unilaterally close your personal accounts.
Accepted Types of Funds Origin
The good news: all legal origins are acceptable. Professionals won't refuse your funds because they come from trading or inheritance. They'll refuse them if you can't clearly justify their origin.
Among the main validated sources, provided they're documented, we find:
- Personal savings (Fiat to Crypto): Funds from your salaries or savings, justified by bank statements.
- Professional income: Freelance compensation, salary or services received in digital assets.
- Investment gains (Trading / DeFi): Capital gains realized on markets, justified by transaction history.
- Mining and Staking: Network validation rewards, proven by blockchain activity.
- Inheritances or gifts: Funds received and documented by appropriate documents.
- Formalized loans: Funds received under a duly signed loan contract.
- Sale of goods or assets for crypto-assets: sale of movable, real estate, company shares or any other asset, paid in crypto-assets, justified by a deed of sale, invoice or contract, as well as payment traceability on the blockchain
Documentation is essential, whatever the origin. A euro without trace is a suspicious euro.
How to Prove the Origin of Your Crypto Funds for a Real Estate Purchase
Best Practices
Before contacting a notary, you must structure your file to gain credibility and speed up the process. Here are the essential steps concerning crypto funds dedicated to your transaction:
Acquisition History
The first step is to reconstruct the complete history of your cryptocurrencies. This involves identifying how the funds were initially obtained and providing proof: bank statements and purchase orders for euro acquisitions, contracts, invoices or payslips for income, or any other appropriate documentation for the acquisition method. This phase answers the question of the economic origin of funds.
Cryptocurrency Storage and Holding
It's then necessary to describe where the cryptocurrencies have been kept since their acquisition. This includes platforms used (Kraken, Binance, Coinbase, etc.), personal wallets, as well as the distinction between hot wallets and cold wallets. The objective is to identify successive holding locations and demonstrate that you've maintained effective control of your assets.
Chronology and Flow Traceability
Finally, beyond origin and storage, the logic of movements over time is determining. This involves continuously tracing transfers between accounts, platforms and wallets, ensuring consistency of dates and amounts. A clear chronological table (for example in Excel) summarizing dates, amounts, acquisition sources and successive transfers allows visualizing funds circulation. This traceability strengthens file readability, facilitates controls and demonstrates a high level of transparency and compliance.
Traps to Absolutely Avoid
Neglecting initial documentation: the further back you go in history, the harder it will be. Keep your evidence from the start.
Discovering the problem a week before signing: last-minute compliance surprises are catastrophic. Check everything in advance.
Assuming the notary understands crypto: many professionals are discovering crypto. Your trust comes through clear documents, irrefutable traceability, and total transparency.
Ignoring transaction-related taxation: funds origin is one step. But capital gains generated by your transaction must be declared. The two are inseparable.
Lock to Prove: The Key to Compliance
Funds origin and compliance shouldn't be obstacles but mastered formalities.
However, saying "I have 10 BTC somewhere" isn't enough. A notary or any other professional cannot accept a real estate transaction based on a promise. They require certainties.
Gap Between Legal Framework and Operational Reality
Regulatory-wise, the requirement mainly focuses on funds traceability and compliance (KYC, AML-CFT). The texts don't formally require prior asset locking.
However, a major operational difficulty remains: without funds isolation, how can you guarantee that the crypto-assets controlled today will be those actually mobilized at the time of transaction?
Escrow Transforms Promise into Guarantee
This is where funds immobilization becomes decisive. It bridges the gap between legal requirement and operational reality. Although not mandatory strictly speaking, escrow is strongly recommended to secure the transaction:
Immobilize dedicated cryptocurrencies with a trusted third party (VASP registered with the regulator).
Attest to the existence of funds and their exclusive allocation to the transaction.
Convert and Transfer ultimately the previously validated assets.
This approach doesn't just formally comply with the rule: it guarantees its effectiveness. The notary no longer relies on a declarative intention, but on a secured, audited and locked perimeter.
Have a Project?
Whether you're targeting real estate, luxury, entrepreneurial or wealth investment, a gift, or any crypto transaction, Legibloq facilitates your interactions with regulated professionals by transforming your cryptocurrencies into compliant and accepted assets.
Don't stay in uncertainty. Book your free discovery call. We'll answer your questions and validate together your transaction feasibility.
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