David Farmer, a senior product executive at Coinbase, has quietly written an eight-figure check for a vacant slice of one of Miami Beach’s most closely watched islands, dropping $10.4 million on a cleared 0.6-acre lot on La Gorce Island. The buy is the latest in a wave of out-of-state tech money washing into the city’s guard-gated enclaves, where privacy and room to build still command a steep premium.
Deal details
Public sale records on Trulia show that Farmer paid $10.4 million on April 15 for 31 La Gorce Circle, a corner parcel that was marketed as a development opportunity. The lot is cleared, measures roughly 0.59 acres and sits behind La Gorce Island’s guard gate, giving the buyer both scale and seclusion a short drive from South Beach.
Who bought it
Farmer is a longtime Coinbase insider who joined the crypto exchange in early 2015, according to a blog post he authored for Coinbase. Corporate records and past reporting have placed him in senior product roles, and the Luxembourg Times has cited him among officers tied to Coinbase’s European arm. His latest move suggests he is now planting a flag in one of Miami Beach’s priciest pockets.
Seller and recent history
The parcel’s quick climb in value has developer fingerprints all over it. Spec builder Todd Michael Glaser acquired the property in 2022, paying about $8.3 million that summer, according to price history on Zillow. After that deal, the lot cycled through a series of ask prices that topped out around $17.4 million as Glaser tested what the market would bear.
Glaser is no stranger to splashy headlines. He has been involved in multiple marquee projects across South Florida, including a 2024 private-island transaction in Palm Beach reported by The Real Deal. Flipping a cleared La Gorce lot at a multimillion-dollar gain fits neatly into that playbook.
What the lot allows
Marketing materials pitched 31 La Gorce Circle as a blank canvas with serious upside. Broker pages from Brown Harris Stevens describe conceptual plans for a contemporary residence of roughly 7,900 square feet, with room for the kind of resort-style amenities that have become standard fare in the ultraluxury bracket.
Listings also identify Zachary Vichinsky and Brett Harris of Bespoke Real Estate Florida as the agents who brought the lot to market. Realtor.com data indicates asking prices on the parcel climbed as high as $17.4 million during the most aggressive stretch of its marketing run.
Why it matters
La Gorce Island is one of those places where very little trades and everyone in the high-end market notices when it does. The guard-gated community has repeatedly surfaced in roundups of the largest Miami-Dade deals, reinforcing its role as a bellwether for top-tier pricing. Recent coverage of countywide luxury closings has flagged La Gorce among the year’s standout sales, according to Homes.com.
In that context, a $10.4 million land-only trade to a crypto executive is not just another quiet closing. It is one more data point that Miami Beach’s most exclusive islands still have plenty of pull with buyers who want space, security and a custom build, and who are willing to pay up to get all three.
