First Fannie Mae Mortgage Secured by Bitcoin Closed via Coinbase

Coinbase and mortgage lender Better announced that a Michigan couple completed the first conventional, Fannie Mae‑backed mortgage secured by Bitcoin on Thursday. The buyers pledged BTC held on a centralized exchange to cover part of their down payment.

The product issues two separate loans: a standard mortgage that complies with Fannie Mae and federal rules, and a second lien tied to the pledged cryptocurrency. Digital assets must be held on a centralized platform to qualify; self‑custodied wallets are excluded.

Better says routine price moves in crypto will not trigger margin calls or sudden liquidations for the mortgage product. The lender cautions it may liquidate pledged crypto if a borrower becomes 60 days delinquent on payments. Better has provided example scenarios showing how the structure might work, including using $250,000 in Bitcoin as collateral to cover a $100,000 down payment as a second lien.

The offering lets homeowners use crypto holdings without selling them, which can avoid immediate capital gains tax on a sale. Coinbase plans initial support for Bitcoin and Circle’s USDC stablecoin and expects the product to be available to qualified borrowers across the United States in the coming months.

The change follows a directive from Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte instructing the agency to recognize certain digital assets held on centralized exchanges in mortgage underwriting. The FHFA guidance excludes assets in self‑custodied wallets. The policy has drawn criticism in Congress; Senator Elizabeth Warren said recognizing crypto in mortgage underwriting would pose risks to consumers and financial markets.

Mark Troianovski, Coinbase’s head of consumer and platform partnerships, described the product as opening a path from digital‑asset holdings to homeownership, saying, “Tens of millions of Americans have built real wealth in digital assets. That wealth now has a direct path to homeownership, creating new opportunities for the next generation.” Coinbase also noted the mortgage product is structured differently from its earlier Bitcoin‑backed lending program by separating the government‑backed primary loan from the crypto‑tied second lien.

Bitcoin has been volatile in recent days, falling about 17% from nearly $74,000 to roughly $61,556, with marketwide liquidations totaling billions of dollars. Consumers must meet conventional mortgage qualifications and additional criteria related to the crypto collateral and centralized custody to use the product.