Better Home and Coinbase Launch Crypto-Backed Mortgage Program

Better Home and Finance and Coinbase have launched a new mortgage program that allows homebuyers to pledge Bitcoin or USDC as collateral toward a down payment, rather than converting their cryptocurrency to cash.

Under the program, eligible borrowers receive two loans at closing. The first is a standard conforming mortgage on the home, following Fannie Mae guidelines. The second is a separate loan secured by the pledged cryptocurrency to cover the down payment, similar to a piggyback loan structure. Better holds the crypto through Coinbase for the life of the second loan and returns it once repaid.

Because the primary mortgage follows Fannie Mae guidelines, it qualifies for significantly lower interest rates than other crypto-backed loan products currently on the market.

The program targets the estimated 52 million Americans who own digital assets and want to use them in a home purchase without selling. Crypto use in home purchases remains rare. Only 1 percent of buyers who made a down payment between July 2024 and June 2025 used proceeds from selling cryptocurrency, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

Financial advisors urge caution. The collateralization ratio is steep: $100,000 in Bitcoin yields only $40,000 in down payment credit. That makes the product accessible mainly to buyers with substantial holdings. If a borrower goes 60 days delinquent on payments, Better can liquidate the pledged crypto to cover the loan.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last June to develop a proposal for treating crypto as a reserve asset in single-family loan risk assessments. The Better-Coinbase program is one of the first products to emerge from that regulatory shift.

For most buyers, a traditional down payment approach will still make more financial sense.