Better Home & Finance and Coinbase are working on a new mortgage product linked to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae. The new product will allow buyers to obtain a mortgage without selling their crypto assets.
According to Redaksiya, citing a source, this innovation will allow buyers to pledge their crypto assets when obtaining a mortgage. Better Home & Finance will act as the lender, while Coinbase will support the crypto aspect of the product. This structure will consist of two loans: one a standard Fannie Mae-guaranteed mortgage, and the other a loan secured by the borrower's crypto assets.
Details of the product are currently limited. According to the information, Bitcoin and USDC are expected to be involved in the program, but full compatibility details were not available at the time of publication. It is also stated that the pledged crypto assets will not be tradable as long as they serve as collateral for the loan. Borrowers will not be forced to sell their digital assets for the down payment. It is noted that interest rates for the crypto-secured portion may be higher than standard mortgage rates. According to Fannie Mae's current selling guide, virtual currency is only considered after it has been converted to U.S. dollars and deposited into a regulated financial institution. This indicates that the new structure will be a departure from the existing approach. This step aligns with the FHFA's directive in 2025 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto assets in the underwriting of mortgage loans. The new product will take this process further by directly linking crypto assets to mortgage collateral.