I’ve followed crypto-backed mortgages in my years as a mortgage and housing reporter, and although they seem like a cool concept, I’ve always been wary of them. Companies such as Milo have offered mortgages backed by cryptocurrency for a while, but they’re difficult to qualify for and relatively expensive.
But the meaning behind “crypto-backed mortgage” just changed.
The mortgage lender Better Home and Finance has teamed up with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to provide crypto-backed home loans — accepted by Fannie Mae.
Along with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) that insures mortgages. In June 2025, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte posted on X that he had ordered the GSEs to ready themselves for accepting crypto as an asset for mortgages.
Fannie Mae insures conforming loans, which are probably what come to mind when you think of a “regular mortgage.” Conforming loans are the most common type of home loan, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
These new crypto-backed loans differ from their predecessors because you can use crypto for a down payment on a conforming loan backed by Fannie Mae — not on a specialized type of mortgage with hefty requirements. This means that a lot more Americans can qualify for them.
How do crypto-backed mortgages supported by Fannie Mae work?
Right now, Better Home and Finance is the only lender that offers crypto-backed mortgages via Fannie Mae. So, borrowers must store their crypto in a Coinbase account and get their loan through Better.
With this program, you’ll actually take out two loans. The first is a regular, conforming loan insured by Fannie Mae. Like most mortgages, it uses your home as collateral should you default on monthly payments.
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The second loan is the crypto-backed one, which covers your down payment. You don’t have to liquidate your cryptocurrency to put the funds toward the down payment — you keep your crypto, and the loan uses your it as collateral rather than your home. Bitcoin and USD Coin are the only types of crypto that can back this loan.
Let’s say you want to buy a $500,000 house, but you can’t afford a cash down payment. You could take out a conforming loan for $400,000 backed by Fannie Mae, then use the value of your crypto for a $100,000 down payment.
Crypto is volatile, so prospective borrowers may be worried about what happens when their crypto value decreases. Would it affect their loan?
Nope. The only time the value of your crypto affects your mortgage is if you default on payments. Then, Better would liquidate your crypto for it to serve as collateral.
It’s important to note that you can only use a crypto-backed loan with Fannie Mae for a 30-year or 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. You cannot get an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a jumbo loan.
How to qualify for a crypto-backed mortgage via Fannie Mae
Remember, you are getting two loans with this program, and you must be eligible for each. There’s great news about the Fannie Mae loan: The requirements are the same as for any Fannie Mae conforming loan. Here are the rules:
- Property value: Fannie Mae requires that your property value be $832,750 or less for a single-unit property in 2026, though conforming loan limits are higher in specific high-cost areas of the U.S.
- Credit score: There’s no longer a hard-and-fast rule about the credit score needed for a Fannie Mae loan, because the GSE looks at your entire financial picture. But the rule of the thumb is that you’ll need a 620 credit score.
- Debt-to-income ratio: You must have a DTI ratio of 45% or less — but once again, Fannie Mae considers your financial situation overall, so it could allow a DTI ratio of up to 50%.
- Financial documents: You’ll need to provide proof of employment, income, and assets from the last two years.
- Down payment: Fannie Mae also only requires a 3% down payment for primary homes. So, if you have enough cryptocurrency to cover 3%, then you can afford to get a crypto mortgage via Fannie Mae.
As for the crypto-backed loan, the main requirement is that you use bitcoin or USD Coin. Better said it may accept other forms of cryptocurrency later, but not yet.
Photo by Oscar Wong on Getty Images
A tool for the ultra-wealthy or a more affordable option for buyers?
I’ll admit, I suppressed an eye-roll when I read a headline announcing that Fannie Mae was supporting crypto-backed mortgages. It struck me as a way for the government to launch a program that would make it look like they were helping homebuyers but would actually just help people who were already rich and owned a lot of crypto.
But after some digging, I started to change my tune.
“41% of consumers don’t have enough cash on hand funds for down payment but own equities or digital assets,” Vishal Garg, CEO of Better Mortgage, told TheStreet. “The ability to pledge these assets in lieu of cash would radically increase the number of consumers who could buy a home.”
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Crypto owners in the U.S. are also a more diverse group of people than I had imagined. According to a study by Coinbase, about 52 million Americans own crypto; 70% earn $100,000 or less annually, 68% are millennials or Gen Z, and 48% are non-white.
“Hopefully, this will help more first-time homebuyers get into the real estate market,” Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage, told TheStreet. “Let’s see how this goes. We hope that it will be a game-changer and that other lenders will offer competing products.”
These crypto-backed mortgages are more affordable than similar home loans that already exist. For example, Milo’s crypto mortgage minimum is $275,000, while your crypto value only needs to be high enough to cover a 3% down payment with Fannie Mae.
Milo also charges 7%-9% on crypto-backed mortgages. You should ultimately end up paying less interest on a crypto loan via Fannie Mae.
Mortgage rates have been rising, and this loan offers a unique solution: A representative told TheStreet that Fannie Mae mortgage rates are 0.3% lower on conforming loans through this program than on regular conforming loans. Rather than paying 6.25%, for example, you’d pay 5.95%.
The rate will be a little higher on the crypto-backed loan, but since the majority of your debt will be with the lower-rate Fannie Mae mortgage, you’ll likely end up with a pretty good deal.
You also may be eligible for a rebate to put toward you closing costs. Coinbase One members could receive up to $5,000 for a rebate, and non-members can get up to $1,000.
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