Fannie Mae Accepts First Crypto-Backed Mortgage Product, Paving New Path for Homebuyers
March 26, 2026 – By Diana Olick, CNBC
In a groundbreaking move, Fannie Mae has announced it will accept its first-ever cryptocurrency-backed mortgage product. The innovative offering, developed collaboratively by mortgage company Better Home and Finance (Better) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, enables homebuyers to leverage their digital assets as collateral to secure home financing without having to sell their cryptocurrency holdings.
A New Era for Crypto and Real Estate
While crypto-backed mortgages have existed in some form, this marks the first instance where a product backed by Fannie Mae—the government-sponsored enterprise under conservatorship—will purchase these loans alongside its traditional conforming mortgages. This endorsement represents a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrency with mainstream financial services.
Vishal Garg, CEO of Better, emphasized the broader implications in a CNBC interview: "We have now finally created the infrastructure rails to enable any tokenized asset in America to be able to be pledged to help someone afford to buy a home. It starts with bitcoin, starts with [USD Coin], but going forward, it can be Apple stock or Amazon stock, or any publicly traded mutual fund, bond fund, something that you might hold in your IRA, you’re going to be able to pledge that to buy a home."
How the Crypto-Backed Mortgage Product Works
This new mortgage product is designed for buyers who hold significant cryptocurrency assets but prefer to retain those investments to avoid triggering taxable events and to capture potential future appreciation. The product enables borrowers to maintain ownership of their crypto while using it as collateral to fund a mortgage.
To participate, borrowers need to have a Coinbase account. The process involves two loans:
- The primary mortgage loan for the home purchase.
- A secondary loan, backed by bitcoin or USD Coin (USDC), which funds the down payment on the first loan.
Both loans are originated and held by Better. Upon pledging their cryptocurrency, borrowers cannot trade or move those assets; they remain in custody within Better’s Coinbase Prime account for the life of the loan and are returned once the loan is fully repaid. Importantly, even if the value of the pledged crypto declines, the loan terms and payment obligations remain unaffected as long as monthly payments continue.
For example, on a $500,000 home purchased with this product, a borrower could pledge $250,000 in bitcoin and receive a $100,000 loan to cover the traditional cash down payment.
Benefits and Considerations
The primary advantage is that homebuyers avoid liquidating their crypto holdings, sidestepping capital gains taxes and preserving their potential asset appreciation. According to Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, "Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional down payment."
Borrowers make a single monthly payment to Better covering both loans, and the secondary loan does not require private mortgage insurance (PMI), reducing some costs.
However, borrowers are effectively managing two loans, which could be more expensive compared to a traditional mortgage down payment. Vishal Garg highlighted that Better offers competitive interest rates and terms and noted a potential benefit with USDC: “The holdings that you hold in USDC and the yield you get from that can be used to offset the interest payments on the mortgage.”
The Broader Landscape and Future Prospects
Other companies, like Milo, have also introduced crypto-backed home loans, but such products have not yet achieved Fannie Mae compliance and often demand full crypto collateralization, making them more costly and less flexible.
Fannie Mae’s support, influenced by its conservator—the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s growing interest in cryptocurrency—signals a progressive shift in the mortgage industry’s acceptance of digital assets.
Tony Giordano, a real estate agent specializing in cryptocurrency, remarked on a recent CNBC Property Play podcast, "I don’t see how the entire real estate industry will not be on the blockchain within 10 years."
Additionally, Better and Coinbase are incentivizing this product with special offers. Coinbase One members, if approved for a loan by Better, can receive a rebate worth 1% of the mortgage value, capped at $10,000. The roadmap also includes potential additions of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Solana.
Conclusion
Fannie Mae’s acceptance of a crypto-backed mortgage product opens a significant new avenue for crypto holders aspiring to become homeowners. By merging traditional mortgage markets with the evolving digital asset ecosystem, this initiative could lower barriers for homeownership among younger generations and expand the integration of blockchain technology within real estate finance.
For more updates on the intersection of real estate and technology, stay tuned to CNBC’s Property Play newsletter.
Diana Olick is a senior real estate reporter for CNBC covering housing and mortgage markets.