Fannie Mae will soon allow mortgages backed by cryptocurrency holdings, a significant shift that reflects growing regulatory clarity in the United States and opens a path for digital-asset holders to use nontraditional wealth as part of the homebuying process.
Crypto Down Payment Options For Fannie Mortgages
On Thursday, Better Home & Finance and Coinbase announced a joint mortgage product that lets prospective buyers pledge crypto as collateral for the down payment on a Fannie Mae‐backed loan rather than selling their digital assets to generate cash.
The offering is structured so the pledged holdings — such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Circle’s USDC stablecoin held in a Coinbase account — secure a separate loan to fund the down payment; the home mortgage itself remains a conventional Fannie‐backed loan.
Better Home & Finance’s founder and CEO, Vishal Garg, framed the partnership as a way to broaden access to homeownership:
Better was founded to make homeownership more accessible for all Americans, and this partnership with Coinbase introduces a new pathway to realizing the American Dream for the 52 million Americans who own digital assets.
Coinbase, in its announcement, described the product as the first time an “AI‐native” mortgage lender has combined secured digital‐asset loans with the platform of a major crypto exchange to bridge digital wealth and traditional real‐estate finance.
Unaffected By Bitcoin Price Swings
Coinbase representatives emphasized that, once active, the mortgage terms and interest rates will function like a standard home loan and will not be affected by fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price.
Coinbase also noted its ongoing engagement with policymakers. “We maintain an active, bipartisan dialogue with Washington,” said a company representative, adding that the product aims to expand homeownership opportunities for Americans whose wealth is tied up in digital assets rather than traditional bank accounts.
At the time of writing, the crypto exchange’s stock, which trades under the symbol COIN, is worth $176 a share. This extends the downturn, which has seen the price decline from $200, the opening price at the start of this week’s trade.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
