Coinbase and Better Mortgage have announced the launch of Bitcoin-backed mortgages, providing US homebuyers with an option to use Bitcoin as collateral for their loans. The collaboration with Better, which trades on Nasdaq, is designed in line with guidelines from the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae.
New access to mortgages for crypto holders
The new service aims to make homeownership more accessible to Americans who hold significant Bitcoin assets. Following the successful funding of the first Bitcoin-backed mortgage in June, Coinbase and Better now plan to cater specifically to younger generations seeking to purchase homes without liquidating their cryptocurrency holdings.
By leveraging digital assets in the mortgage underwriting process, borrowers can pledge their Bitcoin as collateral for a down payment, rather than selling their assets or facing margin calls, according to the companies. This approach is expected to become especially appealing as housing affordability continues to challenge first-time buyers.
Coinbase counts millions of monthly users worldwide, and by allowing Coinbase One members to pledge crypto as collateral without selling their holdings, we’re opening a new path toward homeownership for a generation of borrowers whose wealth increasingly lives onchain, stated Ziggy Jonsson, Chief Technology Officer at Better Mortgage.
Broader trends and incentives
Eligible Coinbase One members will be able to receive a rebate of 1% of the mortgage value, up to a maximum of $10,000. The companies finalized their debut loan in June with a couple from Michigan, who used Bitcoin instead of cash for their down payment—a move that allowed them to retain their exposure to potential future gains in cryptocurrency.
ETH
SOL
BSC
ROBINHOOD
USDT
AAPLThis offering arrives at a time when the median age of first-time homebuyers has reached 40, driven by high interest rates, record home prices, and low inventory, according to Better Mortgage executives. The new solution is positioned as a way to help younger buyers access the housing market while preserving their digital investments.
By enabling borrowers to pledge their digital assets in the mortgage underwriting process, crypto becomes more useful and powerful in the real world—expanding the pathways to homeownership while preserving long-term investment positions, said Ben Shen, head of financial services and loyalty products at Coinbase.
Growth of digital asset–backed loans
Other lenders in the sector are also seeing increased demand for crypto-backed loans. Milo, another crypto-focused lender, reported earlier this year that it surpassed $100 million in digital asset mortgages, including a record single loan of $12 million. The firm attributed this growth to the rising number of institutional and high-net-worth individuals using Bitcoin as collateral for home financing.
Ledn, one of the leading crypto-backed lending platforms, released research projecting that the digital asset-backed loan market could expand from its current size of $3 billion to $1 trillion within the next 10 years, signaling increasing confidence in crypto’s utility in traditional finance.
While traditional markets rely on complex brokers, a massive shift is happening: Wall Street is moving to Web3. Investors are now using platforms like 1stepSwap to hold shares of major US companies, gold, and silver directly in their crypto wallets. By tokenizing Real-World Assets (RWAs) and automatically finding the best market prices in seconds, these services eliminate the need for intermediaries, marking a new phase of financial innovation.
