The Collective will now allow members to pay deposits for its 550-room Old Oak scheme, west London, in Bitcoins, and rent will be able to be paid using the cryptocurrency by the end of the year.
This is the first time that a major UK property developer has enabled Bitcoin payments.
The Collective has pledged a “spot conversion” for Bitcoin, returning the deposit at the original value when the tenancy ends.
Rents at the scheme (pictured), which launched last May, start at £178 per week.
The price of a Bitcoin currently stands at $4,400 (£3,394), but hit a record high this week at more than $5,000, providing a return of almost 420% since 1 January 2017.
The London Legacy Development Corporation has recently granted The Collective planning permission for its latest co-living building, a 250-room, 19-storey development in Stratford, in east London, which will open by early 2019.
A third site for co-living has been acquired in Canary Wharf.
The Collective’s chief executive and founder, Reza Merchant, said: “The rise and adoption of cryptocurrency globally, particularly Bitcoin, is a fascinating development in how people store value and transact for goods and services worldwide. With many savers and investors now choosing and becoming more comfortable with cryptocurrency, people will expect to be able to use it to pay for life’s essentials, including housing deposits and rent.”
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