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.
Fuelled by Bitcoin booms, tech-savvy investors reshaping the prestige market include Ed Craven, the country’s youngest billionaire, who has revealed outlandish plans for a $150m trophy home, and flamboyant app founder Fred Schebesta, who reigns over his $17m oceanfront Crypto Castle.
Ed Craven is Australia’s youngest billionaire
Collectively, they have weathered spectacular losses and scandals then staged equally dramatic comebacks — cementing their place alongside the nation’s established wealthy in some of the most sought-after suburbs.
In January, the US approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) reignited investor confidence, with the so-called ‘Trump pump’ from America’s pro-crypto government sending trading volumes soaring.
As crypto millionaires reinvest their profits into property, brokers predict an even bigger wave of luxury real estate purchases.
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
Australia’s youngest billionaire Ed Craven has revealed outlandish plans for a $150m mega mansion 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
Finder co-founder Fred Schebesta dropped $16.85m in 2021 on a clifftop mansion in South Coogee, 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 March 2024 for $4.636m.
The striking 1,081 sqm suburban palace had six ensuited bedrooms, a cinema, and a gas-heated infinity pool overlooking Cattai Creek Reserve.
Spanning three levels and connected by an eight-person lift, the Kellyville home’s features included a chandelier-adorned triple-height foyer, a custom stone kitchen with Wolf appliances, and an alfresco retreat with a sauna and outdoor kitchen.
The Kellyville home sold for $4.636m earlier this year
Mr Sergienko, whose rise to wealth was as dramatic as his real estate moves, had purchased the property in 2018 for just over $3.3m. He went comparatively down-market, spending $2.28m on a four-bedroom designer home not far from the mansion he had sold.
With just $10,000 to their name, the then-teenaged Mr Sergienko and his family fled the Chechnyan war to arrive in Australia in 1996.
After a bold early bet on Bitcoin in 2016, Mr Sergienko’s fortune soared, with investments in Ethereum and other coins pushing his net worth to an estimated $500m by 2022. Despite the market collapse that year, which saw his wealth drop by two-thirds, Mr Sergienko remained committed to digital currencies.
Now 43, Mr Sergienko is CEO of the Sydney-based global blockchain start-up Chrono.tech, and co-founded recruitment company Edway Group, according to LinkedIn.
Gold Coast crypto queen Sydel Sierra collected luxury property and classic cars. Picture: Glenn Hampson
SYDEL SIERRA
Gold Coast crypto queen Sydel Sierra, 35, turned her Bitcoin fortune into a diversified portfolio, including a stunning $4.63m Tamborine Mountain mansion.
The young mum’s crypto journey began in 2017 at a Bitcoin trading camp in Lithuania, where she turned $980 into $110,000 in just 90 days with an investment in NEO.
By 30, the Perth-born investor was a multi-millionaire, retiring to live off her digital wealth.
In December 2021, she purchased her hinterland estate, Numala, a five-bedroom home on a lush 4.42ha lot with panoramic views of the Gold Coast.
The property has a pool, spa, internal lift, and fire pit seating 10. It was her first major purchase after selling at the 2021 market peak.
Ms Sierra described the Hinterland property as her “reward for making it”
Ms Sierra’s portfolio includes a beachside estate and holiday apartments in Western Australia. She believes real estate is a powerful way to lock in profits from crypto’s volatile cycles, describing it as an asset class with future development opportunities and steady income potential.
Alongside investing, Ms Sierra runs the Digital Wealth Group with her brother, educating others about crypto cycles. A fan of classic cars, her collection includes an Aston Martin Formula One edition and a Porsche.
The Warwick brothers Kain (R) and Kieran (L), both crypto millionaires, pictured on their luxury yacht Ultraviolet on Sydney Harbour. Picture: Toby Zerna
KAIN WARWICK
Crypto trailblazer Kain Warwick made headlines in 2021 when he traded up to a $16.5m beachfront mansion in Tamarama. The Synthetix founder, his wife Raphaela, and their two children left their $5.02m North Bondi home behind for the six-bedroom property with jaw-dropping ocean views and an eight-car garage — perfect for Mr Warwick’s $200,000 McLaren.
The family bought the Tamarama mansion from McGrath exec Shame Smollen
Just six months later, he forked out $12.2m on a Bronte home for his parents, Allana and former tennis star Kim Warwick. The purchase brought Mr Warwick’s total property spend to more than $34m in less than a year, cementing his place as a major player in Sydney’s luxury property market. The 43-year-old Ethereum entrepreneur, who launched his platform from his Bondi home in 2016, revolutionised crypto by creating synthetic assets for investors.
Cosmos Asset Management founder James Manning sold this glamorous Woollahra home
JAMES MANNING
Cosmos Asset Management founder James Manning and his fashion designer wife Louise parted with their glamorous Woollahra home for $8.2m in May, trading Sydney’s eastern suburbs for the equally prestigious northern beaches.
The original 1890s villa had undergone a spectacular redesign by James Garvan Architecture, injecting serious style credentials across a two-storey floor plan.
The couple, who share four young children, previously sold a nearby mansion on Rosemont Ave for $15.5m in 2022. That home, once owned by James Packer, fetched $500,000 less than the Mannings paid for it a year earlier.
The Victorian-era home underwent a sophisticated refurbishment
Their Victorian-era home on Edgecliff Rd featured sophisticated interiors by Tamsin Johnson, including stone finishes, oak herringbone floors, bespoke lighting and European bathroom fittings.
The glass-framed entry portico opened to a stately foyer with a multipurpose family room on one side and an open-plan living zone on the other.
This ground floor included a custom stone kitchen with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances and a living area anchored by a Jetmaster fireplace.
Mr Manning, a trailblazer in Bitcoin mining and founder of blockchain company Mawson Infrastructure, and Louise, formerly of Parlour X, still hold a beachfront property in Palm Beach.
Crypto trader Daniel Maegaard owns commercial property on Queensland’s affluent Sunshine Coast
DANIEL MAEGAARD
Sunshine Coast native Daniel Maegaard turned a $4,000 Bitcoin investment in 2013 into a multimillion-dollar fortune before reinventing himself as ‘Seedphrase’, an international DJ and prominent figure in the NFT world.
By 27, the former law student had travelled to more than 50 countries, cashed out $10m in crypto profits, and launched a DJ career performing in a helmet modelled after his signature CryptoPunk NFT.
Mr Maegaard caused a stir in 2020 after purchasing CryptoPunk #8348 for $18,000 —a digital collectable that later soared to a valuation of more than $5om. His NFT portfolio cemented his reputation as an early adopter in the speculative Web3 space.
Hi DJ alter-ego is inspired by his breakthrough CryptoPunk NFT
In 2022, he sold another CryptoPunk, #2924, for $4.45 million and reallocated much of his wealth back into crypto and NFTs.
Alongside his digital ventures, Mr Maegaard has turned his eye to Queensland’s thriving commercial property market. He bought a prime $2.5m building in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast in 2018, which he sold for $2.7m in 2020. The two-level property, located on Ocean St, offered redevelopment potential with its central zoning. He also owned a $550,000 Peregian Beach property, sold in 2019 for $610,000.
Bryn Solomon founded a Cayman Islands-based crypto trading platform
BRYN SOLOMON
Adelaide-born trader Bryn Solomon splashed into Sydney’s high-end real estate scene in February 2023, snapping up a luxurious modern beach house in Tamarama for $6.895m. The 36-year-old investor, who founded the Cayman Islands-based crypto trading platform Mgnr purchased the home without a registered mortgage.
The property, a renovated 1920s house designed by Chapman Architecture, sits on a 465 sqm block and combines its original Victorian facade with sleek, contemporary extensions. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home was marketed by PPD’s Alexander Phillips and David Tyrell as a luxurious modern beach house.
Tamarama is in vogue with the digital set
MORE NEWS
Surprise generation that will make Boomers look poor
Rare glimpse inside Kylie Jenner’s LA mansion
Inside Joe Rogan’s incredible $22m Texan ranch
Previously owned by Eleanor Cheetham Gammell of Small Giants Academy, the home had sold for $7.5m in 2021.
Mr Solomon, a former derivatives trader in Hong Kong and Chicago, pivoted to private trading from Singapore after his exit from Mgnr, a crypto asset manager specialising in market making and DeFi yield farming.
Sam Karagiozis founded a chain of Melbourne souvlaki shops along with the notorious Auscoin ATM network. Picture: Zak Simmonds
SAM KARAGIOZIS
Sam Karagiozis, the self-proclaimed “self-made” entrepreneur with knuckle tattoos to match, rose to fame through his flashy lifestyle and cryptocurrency ventures before a dramatic fall from grace. The Melbourne-based founder of Auscoin, Australia’s attempt at a national digital currency, gained notoriety for his Bitcoin ATM network and fleet of luxury cars, including a Lamborghini and Bentley with the plates “MR BTC.”
But his empire crumbled in 2019, when Mr Karagiozis was charged with running a multimillion-dollar drug operation allegedly using the dark web and Bitcoin to distribute illegal substances. After spending years fighting the allegations, the prosecution against him collapsed in 2024 due to a lack of evidence, marking a turning point in his life.
Mr Karagiozis is focusing on property development after the case against him was dropped
Now 33, Mr Karagiozis, who also founded a chain of 16 souvlaki shops, has shifted focus to property development. In September, he shared on social media that he had “reset his life” after losing everything, reflecting on his former lifestyle of fast cars, sprawling Templestowe mansions, and early Bitcoin riches.
His current projects include a $720,000 site in Reservoir, purchased with a 12-month settlement in 2024, where he plans to build two large townhouses valued at $2.1–$2.4m. He’s also working on a $902,500 property in Preston, acquired in 2023, which came with plans for four townhouses expected to be completed by March 2025, with a projected end value of $2.6m.
Mr Karagiozis still maintains his ties to crypto, having reportedly sold his Lamborghini in 2017 for Bitcoin, using the funds to reinvest in his digital ventures.
NEWS360. Financial feature. Licensed financial content creator Queenie Tan. Picture: Supplied
QUEENIE TAN
Sydney financial influencer Queenie Tan, 27, has grown her net worth to $500,000 through savvy investments in property, cryptocurrency, and ETFs. A former fintech marketer, she bought her first home at 22 with a $100,000 deposit on a modest two-bedroom Sydney apartment. After a budget-friendly renovation, its value jumped 30 per cent. She and fiancé Pablo Bizzini, 32, have since upgraded to a larger home.
Ms Tan began investing in crypto in 2017, starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum. Her portfolio ballooned during the boom, but the 2018 crash wiped out 90 per cent of its value. The hard lesson taught her to ride out market dips and focus on long-term investments. Now, she sticks to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano, avoiding hype-driven trades in favour of conviction.
Ms Tan believes in starting small and working your way up. Picture: Supplied
Her investments extend beyond crypto. The couple’s portfolio includes two ETFs — one US-focused and one global — and they have made headlines for their plan to turn their newborn daughter, Gia, into a millionaire by investing $1,000 annually from birth.
Ms Tan’s rise from university dropout to financial creator highlights her belief in starting small and scaling up, whether it’s a first home or a fledgling investment portfolio.
*This is general information and not intended as financial advice
English (US) · 