Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will allow qualified borrowers to pledge digital assets to finance Fannie Mae-backed mortgage homes starting this summer.
In an announcement on Thursday, Coinbase and its partner Better Home & Finance: he said the mortgage structuring plan, expected to be in place “by summer 2026,” will allow borrowers to initially utilize Bitcoin (BTC) or USDC (USDC) as collateral for loans to finance home down payments. The initiative, first announced in March, marked a significant shift in companies allowing digital assets to be used to finance homes.
Source: Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels
“We are excited to expand access to all eligible borrowers to solve an ongoing problem: buyers who qualify in every way that matters, but can’t clear the down payment hurdle because their assets aren’t where the system expects them to be,” said Better founder and CEO Vishal Garg.
Garg he said in a March post on X:
“It’s not a niche thing. It’s something everyone will do once most financial assets become tokenized. It’s just a better way to buy a home.”
The move by Coinbase and Better comes as U.S. regulatory agencies under Trump have become friendlier to crypto companies and more accepting of digital assets integrated with customary finance. In June 2025, the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider cryptocurrencies as an asset in assessing mortgage risk without the need to convert to fiat currency.
Related: Crypto mortgage loans in the U.S. are subject to valuation risk and regulatory uncertainty
Other mortgage lenders have taken similar steps since the FHFA order. Newrez began in February allowing borrowers the ability to utilize their cryptocurrency holdings to qualify for a mortgage loan application.
Source: Bill Pulte
Cryptocurrency-backed variable mortgages examined for political motivations
While price volatility in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could pose challenges to the mortgage plan, some U.S. lawmakers accused FHFA chief Bill Pulte for saying President Donald Trump exerted “undue influence” on him in supporting such policies.
“Expanding underwriting criteria to include unconverted cryptocurrency assets may pose risks to the stability of the housing market and financial system,” five U.S. senators said in a July 2025 letter to Pulte following the FHFA order.
Republican lawmakers, including cryptocurrency advocate Cynthia Lummis, have proposed codifying the FHFA order into law. She introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act of July 2025, which states that government agencies “must evolve to meet the needs of a modern, forward-thinking generation.”
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