Fannie Mae is preparing to back a new type of mortgage that allows borrowers to use cryptocurrency holdings as collateral for part of their home financing. The move marks one of the clearest signs yet that digital assets are entering mainstream U.S. housing finance.
The program, developed with mortgage lender Better Home & Finance and crypto exchange Coinbase, would allow eligible buyers to keep their bitcoin or stablecoin holdings instead of selling them to cover a down payment.
For years, crypto investors looking to buy homes generally had two options: convert their digital assets into cash or find a seller willing to accept cryptocurrency directly. According to Newsweek, both routes carried drawbacks, including tax consequences and limited availability.
The new structure changes that process by treating certain crypto holdings as mortgage reserves under rules backed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Fannie Mae.
Fannie Mae Opens the Door to Crypto-Backed Mortgages
Under the proposal, borrowers would take out two loans tied together into a single monthly payment. One would be a traditional Fannie Mae-backed mortgage, while the second would be a loan secured by cryptocurrency holdings to fund the down payment.
According to Newsweek, only crypto assets held on regulated U.S. exchanges such as Coinbase would qualify. Borrowers could use bitcoin or USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, as collateral.
The structure also includes strict collateral requirements. Yahoo Finance reported that bitcoin pledged for the loan must initially equal at least 250 percent of the down payment loan value. For USDC, the collateral threshold is 125 percent.
Once pledged, the crypto assets cannot be traded. Still, borrowers are not required to liquidate their holdings, which many crypto investors view as a major advantage. Jeff Taylor, founder and managing director at Mphasis Digital Risk and a board member of the Mortgage Bankers Association, told Newsweek the offering remains limited for now.
“This is a niche offering with one lender and one crypto exchange, but it’s important that Fannie Mae will back mortgage loans Better makes that use associated Coinbase crypto loans to fund down payments,” Taylor said.
According to the report, Fannie Mae has often tested financial products through smaller pilot programs before expanding them more broadly. Borrowers approved through Coinbase could also qualify for lender credits covering up to 1 percent of the mortgage amount, capped at $10,000, according to Yahoo Finance.
Younger Americans Are Driving Crypto Interest in Housing
The new mortgage model arrives as younger Americans continue showing stronger interest in cryptocurrency ownership than older generations. Security.org estimates that more than 70 million Americans currently own cryptocurrency, representing roughly 30 percent of U.S. adults. About one-third of those holders are between 30 and 44 years old.
Housing affordability challenges appear to be contributing to that trend. According to a Redfin study cited by Newsweek, 12.7 percent of Gen Z and millennial homebuyers used cryptocurrency to help fund down payments in May 2025.
Among older buyers, usage rates were far lower. The same study found that only 3.5 percent of Gen X buyers and 0.5 percent of baby boomers sold crypto investments to support home purchases.
Coinbase executive Max Branzburg described token-backed mortgages as “a major first step” toward expanding access to homeownership for younger buyers struggling to save traditional cash down payments.
The broader policy shift also reflects growing support for cryptocurrency within the Trump administration. According to Newsweek, the administration has backed initiatives including a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the appointment of David Sacks as the country’s first “crypto czar.”
Still, skepticism surrounding cryptocurrency remains widespread. Security.org found that while 61 percent of current crypto holders plan to invest more in digital assets this year, only 6 percent of non-holders expect to enter the market in 2026.
