The last two years have been a real whirlwind for cryptocurrency mogul Dan Romero. In 2019, he ditched his cushy executive role at Coinbase, where he’d spent five years and helped the crypto juggernaut grow from a staff of 20 to hundreds across the globe. In late 2020, the longtime San Francisco resident moved to Los Angeles when his wife Julia DeWahl — the former chief of staff at real estate tech company OpenDoor — joined SpaceX as a member of Starlink Global Operations.
But the biggest change, of course, has been the value explosion of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin jumped from about $3,000 at the start of 2019 to more than $60,000 at its peak earlier this year, likely making early adopter Romero a multimillionaire many times over. Romero, 33, and DeWahl, 34, have since become angel investors who’ve backed dozens of startups, in addition to the latter’s day-to-day role at SpaceX.
And this year, the couple has also made big real estate moves in both California and Utah, where records show the avid skiers dumped more than $13 million on two lavish residences — a main home in L.A.’s seaside community of Venice, and a ski chalet retreat in ritzy Park City, about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
The Venice home is actually a bonafide compound made up of two side-by-side land parcels that total nearly 11,000 square feet and contain four standalone structures, a real rarity in the tightly-packed area. Romero and DeWahl paid $7.3 million for the estate, which includes more than 4,400 square feet of living space spread out among a clapboard-sided two-story main house, Craftsman-style guest cottage, wee poolhouse and a detached garage with its own “artist’s studio.” Altogether, there are nine bedrooms and six baths.
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