Blockchain.com pulls out of Cube Wynwd lease, sparks lawsuit

A cryptocurrency exchange backed out of a lease to establish its headquarters in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Now, the commercial brokerage that landed Blockchain.com as one of the building’s signature tenants is launching a legal battle to collect the second half of a $546,438 commission.

The dispute is the latest fallout ignited by the crypto market is collapsing the last few months.

Blanca Commercial Real Estate last month sued Cube Wynwd owner Brick & Timber Collective, and a joint venture between Tricera Capital and Lndmrk Development that sold the property to Brick & Timber in December. Brick & Timber, a San Francisco-based real estate firm led by Jesse Feldman and Glenn Gilmore, paid 62 million dollars for Cube Wynwd, records show.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleges that Brick & Timber is refusing to pay Blanca Commercial $273,219 that has been overdue for three months.

“We regret that we had to take this action,” Blanca Commercial CEO Tere Blanca said in an emailed statement. “Our firm has never been put in a position that required legal action to pursue payment of accrued fees, but at this time I must do the right thing for the firm.”

Gilmore, who also provided an email statement, said Blanca Commercial received the first half of the commission from the Tricera-led joint venture last year, although Blockchain.com will not come to Cube Wynwd.

Blockchain.com, a New York-based exchange that allows people to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies, signed a lease for two floors of 22,000 square feet at Cube Wynwd. The office space was to be Blockchain.com’s new headquarters.

In July, when Cube Wynwd was under contract to sell, Blockchain.com informed Blanca Commercial, Brick & Timber and Tricera that the company “did not intend to move in or occupy the premises,” Gilmore said.

He added: “If and when Blockchain occupies the premises and starts paying rent, [Brick & Timber] will pay the other half [of the] Commission welcome.”

In addition to Cube Wynwd, Brick & Timber also owns two other Wynwood commercial properties. Last year, the company paid a total of 58 million dollars for Wynwood Annex at 215 Northwest 24th Street and a office and commercial buildings at 2724 and 2734 Northwest First Avenue.

The eight-story Cube Wynwd, with 100,000 square meters of office space, was completed in 2019 by a partnership between Redsky Capital and JZ Capital Partners. Tricera, led by CEO Ben Mandell, and Lndmrk, led by principal Alex Karakhanian, paid 28 million dollars for Cube Wynwd in 2021.

The Blanca Commercial lawsuit names the ownership entity managed by Triceras Mandell as a defendant. Mandell, Tricera Capital, Karakhanian and Lndmrk, which was a passive investor in Cube Wynwd, are not named as defendants. Mandell and Karakhanian declined comment.

Before the deal with Brick & Timber was closed, Tricera assured Lndmrk affiliate Blanca Commercial that the brokerage would get the second part of the commission, the lawsuit alleges.

When the closing occurred, the seller transferred $273,219 to the buyer “with the acknowledgment and instructions that Brick & Timber transfer these funds to Blanca,” the complaint states.

Blanca Commercial claims that Blockchain.com’s rescission of the lease “is not relevant based on the clear terms of the lease and commission agreement,” according to the lawsuit.

A copy of the agreement attached to the lawsuit states that if the lease is terminated, “the other half of the commission shall be deemed forfeited.” However, Brick & Timber and Blockchain.com, led by CEO Peter Smith, have not officially killed the lease.

Blockchain.com spokespeople did not respond to an email request for comment. The company, which was valued at $14 billion last year, is seeking to sell off assets as Blockchain.com seeks capital, according to published reports.

Summoned as the “Capital of the Crypt” by Mayor Francis Suarez, Miami is the epicenter of the digital currency meltdown. In January, a bankruptcy judge approved the termination of a naming rights agreement for the former FTX Arena in downtown Miami. The Miami Heat NBA franchise and Miami-Dade County tried to kill the $2 million-a-year deal in the wake of FTX cratering. The cryptocurrency exchange was insolvent due to mishandling of customer funds.

Meanwhile, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and conspiracy to violate US campaign finance laws by making illegal political donations. His Miami-based company, West Realm Shires Services, owned FTX.