Fannie Mae will soon allow mortgages backed by cryptocurrency holdings, a significant change that reflects increasing regulatory clarity in the United States and paves the way for digital asset holders to use non-traditional wealth as part of the home buying process.
Crypto Down Payment Options for Fannie Mortgages
Thursday, Better Home & Finance and Coinbase announcement a common mortgage product that allows prospective buyers to put up cryptocurrencies as collateral for the down payment of a Fannie Mae-backed loan rather than selling their digital assets to generate cash.
The offer is structured so that pledged assets – 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 loan itself remains a conventional Fannie-backed loan.
Better Home & Finance founder and CEO Vishal Garg touted the partnership as a way to expand access to homeownership:
Better was founded to make homeownership more accessible to all Americans, and this partnership with Coinbase introduces a new path 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 collateralized digital asset lending with the platform of a major crypto exchange to connect digital wealth and traditional real estate financing.
Unaffected by Bitcoin price fluctuations
Coinbase representatives emphasized that once active, mortgage terms and interest rates will operate like a standard home loan and will not be affected by fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin.
Coinbase also highlighted its continued 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 to digital assets rather than traditional bank accounts.
At the time of writing, the crypto exchange’s stock, which trades under the ticker COIN, is worth $176 per share. This extends the downturn, which saw the price fall by $200, the opening price at the start of this week’s trading.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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