For years, buying property with cryptocurrency in Europe has existed in a legal grey zone. Transactions were possible, but often depended on informal arrangements, cooperative sellers and ad-hoc conversions that became fragile the moment a deal reached a notary, a bank or a tax authority. In January 2026, that structural weakness became the focus of a new initiative launched in Marbella by Banxa and Vicox Legal, which are positioning their partnership as a fully regulated legal and financial framework for crypto-funded real estate purchases across several European countries.
The ambition is deliberately restrained. Rather than promoting speed, anonymity or technological disruption, the framework is designed to integrate crypto capital into Europe’s existing property and compliance systems. The message is clear: crypto can be used as a source of funds, but only if it behaves like conventional cross-border capital once it enters the transaction.
Why Marbella is the starting point
Marbella is a practical launch location rather than a symbolic one. The Costa del Sol market is dominated by international buyers, complex tax structures and transaction sizes where execution risk matters as much as price. Average prices in Marbella exceed €5,000 per square metre, with typical transactions above €700,000 and prime assets on the Golden Mile frequently crossing the €1 million threshold.
At these price levels, buyers are less interested in novel payment methods and more concerned with certainty: that funds will be accepted without hesitation, deeds will be notarised correctly, taxes will be paid in full and ownership will remain defensible under future scrutiny.
How the framework works
The Banxa–Vicox Legal structure does not involve sellers directly “accepting crypto.” Instead, cryptocurrency is treated as a funding source that must pass through regulated channels before it reaches the property transaction.
Buyers are subject to identity verification, source-of-funds checks and wallet screening in line with European anti-money-laundering requirements. Vicox Legal handles the legal side of the transaction, including property due diligence, land registry checks, planning compliance, contract drafting and tax structuring. Banxa provides regulated crypto-to-fiat conversion, producing a documented payment trail that notaries, banks and tax authorities can recognise and accept.
By the time the deed is signed, the transaction is indistinguishable on paper from a conventional cross-border purchase, despite the digital origin of the capital.
Costs remain unchanged
Using cryptocurrency does not reduce the cost of buying property in Southern Europe. Transfer taxes, notarial fees and legal costs remain substantial and often define whether a deal is viable.
In Andalusia, resale properties are typically subject to transfer tax in the high single digits. On a €1 million purchase, this can amount to roughly €70,000 in tax alone. Even at Marbella’s average transaction value of around €710,000, transfer tax can approach €50,000, before legal and administrative costs are added.
This is where many earlier crypto-property deals failed. Transactions collapsed not because buyers lacked capital, but because those funds could not be documented or converted in a form acceptable to notaries and tax authorities. The new framework is designed to eliminate that point of failure.
Regulation as the value proposition
The timing reflects a broader shift in Europe’s treatment of digital assets. Crypto is no longer viewed as an external phenomenon but as capital that must comply with the same standards as any other. Source-of-funds transparency, regulated conversion and reporting are becoming non-negotiable.
For Banxa, regulatory positioning in Europe underpins the entire commercial model. For Vicox Legal, the focus is on making transactions defensible under audit, litigation or tax review. Together, they are effectively selling compliance itself as infrastructure.
From digital wealth to registered ownership
The longer-term bet behind the Marbella initiative is that a compliant structure will unlock demand that has so far remained cautious. International investors holding significant crypto assets may be willing to deploy capital into European real estate once legal uncertainty is removed.
The framework does not eliminate market risk, price cycles or tax exposure. What it reduces is execution risk: the chance that a transaction fails at the final stage because the funding source cannot withstand regulatory inspection.
In markets where prices exceed €5,000 per square metre and seven-figure transactions are routine, that reduction in uncertainty may matter more than any promise of speed. In this sense, Banxa and Vicox Legal are not trying to reinvent European property markets, but to ensure that crypto capital can finally enter them on the same terms as everything else.
