Grant Cardone adds $100 million in Bitcoin to real estate deal, targeting 32% returns

Grant Cardone, who leads Cardone Capital, on Wednesday revealed that the firm recently structured a $235 million real estate deal alongside a $100 million Bitcoin allocation. The announcement came during a fireside discussion at Consensus Miami 2026.

The entrepreneur said his Bitcoin-backed real estate model could outperform traditional REITs, short for Real Estate Investment Trusts, which typically own or finance income-producing properties and distribute most of their taxable income to shareholders through dividends.

Cardone argued that traditional REITs are structurally limited because they cannot hold Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets. By combining property cash flow with BTC appreciation potential, he believes the model could generate returns between 22% and 32%.

Traditional REITs have historically delivered long-term annualized total returns, typically ranging from 8% to 11% depending on the time window and index used and often outperforming private real estate and bonds while remaining competitive with the S&P 500.

The latest Bitcoin purchase builds on Cardone Capital’s 2025 acquisition of 1,000 BTC, bringing the company’s total exposure to roughly $200 million. Cardone has set a target of holding 10,000 BTC by the end of 2026.

Cardone said the structure is also onboarding new participants into crypto markets, with approximately 80% of the investors in the fund reportedly having no prior Bitcoin exposure.

Cardone Capital launched in 2016 with the goal of giving everyday investors access to institutional-grade multifamily deals. The firm reportedly has IPO plans for 2026, which would bring additional disclosure requirements and public market scrutiny to a strategy that currently operates with the relative privacy of a private fund.