Fannie Mae and Coinbase Open the Door to Crypto-Backed Mortgages – Here’s How

TLDR

• Fannie Mae is set to allow crypto-backed mortgage down payments through a new program with Coinbase and Better Home & Finance.
• Buyers can pledge Bitcoin or USDC instead of selling crypto, avoiding liquidation and potential capital gains taxes.
• The structure uses two loans: a standard Fannie-backed mortgage plus a separate crypto-collateralized loan.
• Rates on the crypto-backed loan may run up to 1.5 percentage points higher than standard mortgages.
• The move follows a June 2025 directive from FHFA Director Bill Pulte, who told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare for crypto as a mortgage asset.

Fannie Mae, the $4.1 trillion government-sponsored mortgage giant, is preparing to back mortgages where buyers use cryptocurrency as collateral instead of a cash down payment. The program was built with Coinbase and mortgage lender Better Home & Finance.

The basic idea is simple. Rather than selling crypto to raise a down payment, buyers pledge their digital assets as collateral. This lets them keep their holdings while still qualifying for a home loan.

The structure works through two loans. The first is a standard 15- or 30-year Fannie Mae-backed mortgage. The second is a separate loan backed by the pledged crypto, which funds the down payment.

Borrowers can currently pledge Bitcoin or USDC under the program. Once pledged, those assets cannot be traded for the life of the arrangement.

Better CEO Vishal Garg confirmed that price drops in the pledged crypto do not affect the mortgage, as long as borrowers keep making payments. This removes one of the bigger risks that come with crypto-collateralized lending.

How the Dual-Loan Structure Works

The setup costs more than a standard mortgage. Borrowers pay interest on both loans. The crypto-backed loan’s interest rate can match typical Fannie Mae rates, or go up to 1.5 percentage points higher.

According to Coinbase’s Max Branzburg, many crypto investors previously avoided buying homes because they didn’t want to sell their holdings and trigger capital gains taxes. This product aims to solve that problem.

Fannie Mae itself does not make loans directly. It buys mortgages from lenders, packages them, and guarantees payments to investors. Its backing adds credibility that earlier crypto mortgage products from smaller lenders lacked.

Who Has Done This Before

Crypto-backed mortgages are not entirely new. Miami fintech company Milo launched a similar product in 2022. Since then, it has served just over 100 customers.

Milo CEO Josip Rupena said many of his clients look like foreign buyers: strong assets, but limited traditional credit history. It’s a niche market, but one that has been growing.

Non-bank lender Newrez has also started accepting certain crypto holdings in mortgage applications without requiring conversion to cash. These are early signs that more mainstream lenders are moving in this direction.

Policy Background

The program follows a directive issued in June 2025 by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. He instructed both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to explore how crypto assets could count in mortgage applications.

About 14% of U.S. adults owned cryptocurrency in 2025, according to Gallup. A separate Redfin survey found that nearly 13% of younger homebuyers had already sold crypto to fund a down payment.

Key details for the Fannie Mae product are still being worked out. These include how collateral values will be set and what risk controls will apply to the program.

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