Crypto Collateral: New Home‑Buying Pathway

Better Home & Finance is teaming up with Coinbase to let people who own Bitcoin or USDC use those coins as collateral for a mortgage. The plan is to launch the product within three months, offering a way for crypto holders to buy homes without selling their digital assets. Only about 1 % of recent home buyers used crypto proceeds for a down payment, so this new option could open the market to millions of Americans who already own crypto.Instead of converting their coins to cash, borrowers can pledge them to Coinbase as security for the loan. If the value of the crypto falls, the mortgage terms stay the same; no extra collateral is needed. However, missing payments for 60 days could trigger liquidation of the crypto stake. The program follows Fannie Mae rules, which means the loans can be backed by the government‑owned mortgage giant and may come with lower interest rates than typical crypto loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have overseen the housing market since the Great Recession, are now looking at crypto as a potential asset for loan reserves. Shares of Better Homes rose 5. 4 % after the announcement, while Coinbase shares dropped 4. 3 %.