Crypto kings and queens and their multimillion dollar property portfolios

Australia’s crypto kings and queens are trading digital fortunes for blue-chip real estate — from clifftop castles and old-money manors to sprawling hinterland retreats and suburban McMansions.

Australia’s crypto kings and queens are cashing in on their digital fortunes and splashing out on some of the country’s most prestigious real estate.

From clifftop castles and sprawling hinterland retreats to old-money manors and suburban McMansions, these tech-savvy investors are reshaping the prestige property market.

Fuelled by Bitcoin booms, investors are making waves in the luxury real estate market

Here’s how the country’s crypto elite are reshaping the real estate game:

The unfinished Toorak property known as the Ghost Mansion sold for $88m to cryptocurrency casino founder Ed Craven. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ed Craven is Australia’s youngest billionaire and the founder of cryptocurrency casino empire Stake.com

ED CRAVEN

Australia’s youngest billionaire Ed Craven has revealed outlandish plans for a $150m trophy home on a Toorak site he bought in 2022 for a record $80m.

The 28-year-old founder of cryptocurrency casino empire Stake.com tapped top architect Paul Conrad to design the sprawling 8,000 sqm residence on St Georges Rd, which will become one of Australia’s most expensive and largest private homes. Features include an enormous basement gym, staff quarters, dog wash areas, and possibly a tennis court.

Renders of the extravagant pad planned for the site.

Mr Craven first entered Melbourne’s high-end Toorak market in 2022, purchasing a $38m two-level Orrong Rd property with a slew of luxury design elements, including a sculptural reflection pond.

He has also made his mark in global sports sponsorships, aligning Stake.com with Formula 1, the English Premier League, and UFC.

With a net worth of $3.86b, Mr Craven is rumoured to be eyeing beachfront holdings along the Gold Coast’s exclusive Mermaid Beach strip.

Crypto enthusiast and Finder co-founder Fred Schebesta

FRED SCHEBESTA

Founder of global fintech company Finder, Fred Schebesta dropped $16.85m in 2021 on a clifftop mansion in South Coogee, which he dubbed Crypto Castle for its fortress-like stone battlements.

The quirky tech mogul and internet personality, who had a net worth of $214m at the time, began his career as a Pizza Hut call centre worker while studying finance before launching Finder in 2006. Today, the global fintech is worth over half a billion dollars, with its Finder app widely popular worldwide.

Mr Schebesta’s Bunya Pde castle has five bedrooms and five bathrooms, jaw-dropping ocean views, an infinity pool, a gym, rooftop terrace and a wine cellar.

The Crypto Castle at South Coogee

Designed by Renato D’Ettorre, the spectacular residence was built with no expense spared, combining sandstone, concrete, steel and vast expanses of glass.

The property also featured in the hit Foxtel series Mr Inbetween.

In October 2022, Mr Shebesta pocketed $4.726m from the sale of another oceanview property, his penthouse at Tamarama. He paid $3.9m for the Wonderland Ave apartment in 2017.

Meanwhile, the South Coogee mansion has also been offered up as a luxury holiday rental for up to $25,000 a night.

Michael and Anna Egorov paid $41m for this palatial Hawthorn property

MICHAEL EGOROV

Melbourne blockchain heavyweight Michael Egorov and his wife Anna raised eyebrows in Hawthorn with a $59m real estate spree culminating last year in two mansions over more than an acre in the blue-chip suburb.

In March 2023, the Curve Finance CEO and his then-25-year-old partner dropped a record-breaking $41m on a grand nine-bedroom manor.

The couple had already snapped up the property next door for $18.25m in 2022, creating an impressive compound in exclusive Shakespeare Grove.

The couple also owns the mansion next door

Spanning more than 5,667 sqm, the combined properties solidified Mr Egorov’s status as a crypto powerhouse.

As founder of the decentralised platform Curve Finance, Mr Egorov has cashed in as crypto traders look to remove banks from their transactions. His fortunes took a hit earlier this year, with $140m wiped from the value of his Curve token after the tech was reportedly hacked.

Russian-born crypto mogul Sergei Sergienko

SERGEI SERGIENKO

Russian-born crypto mogul Sergei Sergienko, who bounced back from a jaw-dropping $600m loss during crypto’s brutal 2022 crash, laid claim to a sprawling McMansion in Sydney’s outer suburbs before cashing out in