The incentive program offers incentives up to $15,000 to homebuyers while their home is under construction. The program uses cryptocurrency as an interface in one of the first instances of cryptocurrency being used by a homebuilder in this way.
MegPrime’s launch was sparked by the Dallas homebuilder Megatel Homes, which will be the first builder to use the payment program.
Zach Ipour, the CEO of MegPrime and Megatel Homes, said that while a home is being built, Megatel will offer $1,500 per month through MegPrime in the form of its own cryptocurrency to customers.
Depending on the size of a home, it can take four to 12 months to build a home. During that time, buyers may be making rent or mortgage payments on their current home using the MegPrime app.
“You’re already paying that rent regardless, you just choose to pay that through the MegPrime pay and receive $1,500 incentives for that,” Ipour said in an interview.
The cryptocurrency token can be converted into dollars or other forms of currency, which Ipour said is part of the benefit of using cryptocurrency.
“We didn’t build this because the world needed another cryptocurrency,” Ipour said in a news release. “We built it to solve a real need, and we used homeownership as our starting point. Crypto is just the architecture of the solution.”
Megatel is the first builder to use the platform and Ipour said he hopes the platform is used by more builders, eventually becoming a regularly used platform, similar to PayPal. MegPrime is working with other builders to have them use MegPrime, he said.
MegPrime is basing its ability to create its cryptocurrency-powered platform on a no-action letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The January letter signaled the staff of the regulatory body would not recommend enforcement action against the company.
Companies can request a no-action letter if they are unsure if a product or service would be a violation of federal securities law and want clarification from the commission.