Share this article
Calling the Crypto-Wealthy: Celebrity Baroness Unveils Luxury Bitcoin Condos
A notable UK celebrity is launching a new real estate venture – one that is targeting cryptocurrency investors in its marketing and branding.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 6:53 a.m. Published Sep 5, 2017, 10:59 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Two high-profile UK entrepreneurs are launching a new luxury apartment complex in Dubai, aiming to cater to those with considerable cryptocurrency holdings.
The "Aston Crypto Plaza" is being spearheaded by Baroness Michelle Mone, lingerie designer and member of the UK Parliament, and her partner Doug Barrowmen, a business mogul and founder of private equity firm Aston Ventures.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In an interview with CoinDesk, Mone said that the complex will feature 1,133 luxury apartments spread over 2.4 million square feet, while also sporting a gym and a swimming pool all aimed at "the amazing blockchain community," she added.
As might be expected, the flats aren't cheap, costing between $133,000 and $379,000. The venture is accepting payments in bitcoin, with BitPay serving as payment processor.
"These property purchases can now happen in minutes from anywhere in the world with the speed of sending an email," Stephen Pair, BitPay's CEO, said in an email.
Barrowmen told CoinDesk that he felt the venture was the perfect opportunity for bitcoin investors to convert their holdings into "real brick-and-mortar" assets.
Mone – who was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2010 – further joked that, given her background as the founder of lingerie company Ultimo, she had "plenty of experience in construction." The 40-story apartments block was "nothing compared to the G-cup," she laughed.
The apartments will be made available for pre-purchase from their website as of today, and early purchasers will be entered into a raffle to win a free apartment, "subject to a minimum 50 apartments being sold," a press release stated.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in BitPay.
Baroness Mone image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Here's what bitcoin bulls are saying as price remains stuck during global rally
It's about a lot more than "zooming out." Supply overhangs and investor "muscle memory" regarding gold help explain bitcoin's poor absolute and relative performance.
알아야 할 것:
- Bitcoin has failed so far to act as an inflation hedge or safe-haven asset, lagging badly behind gold, which has surged amid high inflation, wars, and interest rate uncertainty.
- Crypto advocates argue that bitcoin’s weakness reflects a temporary supply overhang, investor “muscle memory” favoring familiar precious metals and its correlation with risk assets, rather than a collapse in long-term demand.
- Many bitcoin proponents still see BTC as a superior long-term store of value and “digital gold,” predicting that, once traditional hard assets are overbought, capital will rotate into bitcoin, allowing it to “catch up” to gold.
Top Stories
