In a world first, Australia  will host a live auction in which bidders are being asked to pay not in cash, but in cryptocurrency.

The “Jetsons house”, a futuristic-style beachfront home in northern NSW, will be auctioned on April 8, with interested bidders able to buy the luxury property using either Bitcoin or Binance Coin cryptocurrency.

The futuristic home is expected to fetch 700-800 bitcoins, or $3.5 million, when it goes under the hammer.

Bidding will be conducted in Bitcoin only, with an online conversion system listing the Australian and US dollar equivalents on screen.

Owner Greg Costello said he wanted buyers to be able to offer cryptocurrency because it would open up the auction to more buyers overseas.

“I believe it’s the future of borderless transactions. As a society, I think we’re moving in that direction,” he said, adding that he doubted the cryptocurrency focus would scare away buyers unfamiliar with crypto values.

“In some ways it’s better than a regular auction,” he said. “You don’t have to rely on what you hear, you can see what the (offers) are up to on screen.”

The house is built from concrete, steel and tinted eco glass in a style known as Googie, an architectural fashion popular in the US during the Space Age of the 1960s.

The interior is jam packed with tech. The doors are switch operated and there is Google Home automation. Windows are automatic.

The property includes a soccer pitch, in-ground trampoline, gated beach access, outdoor shower and a 25m heated lap pool.

While the Casuarina Beach mansion is the first house to be sold in a live auction, it’s not the first to be bought via cryptocurrency.

In 2014, an undisclosed buyer bought a villa in Bali for 800 bitcoins, which equated to $500,000 at the time.

Two months later a suburban home in Kansas City sold for the same amount, and just after that, an anonymous buyer purchased a 5500-square-metre block in a luxury community near Lake Tahoe in the US, for $US1.6 million ($2.26 million).

Across the world, properties have been purchased using Bitcoin in Portugal, Spain, Panama, Indonesia, Germany, Thailand and Argentina.

ViaThe Daily Telegraph - The New Daily