Better Mortgage and Coinbase have moved their Bitcoin-backed mortgage offering out of the early-access phase and made it generally available to US homebuyers, the companies announced Wednesday. The product is designed to let borrowers use Bitcoin as collateral for a down payment without selling their BTC, while still securing a Fannie Mae-backed home loan.
Under the structure described by Coinbase, buyers take a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage alongside a separate down payment loan that is secured by Bitcoin. Borrowers must pledge BTC worth at least 250% of the down payment loan, with the pledged assets transferred to Better’s custodial setup through Coinbase Prime.
Key takeaways
- Better and Coinbase say the Bitcoin-backed down-payment feature is now broadly available to US borrowers.
- Coinbase’s Help Center states the pledged BTC must be at least 250% of the down payment loan value.
- Bitcoin price drops do not automatically trigger margin calls or changes to mortgage terms.
- Better can liquidate pledged BTC if a borrower becomes 60 days delinquent.
- Eligible Coinbase One members may receive a 1% Better rebate, subject to a $10,000 cap for closing costs and fees.
How the token-backed mortgage is structured
The core of the offering is a two-part financing model. First, borrowers obtain a Fannie Mae-backed home loan. Second, they use a separate down payment loan that is collateralized with Bitcoin, allowing the borrower to retain exposure to BTC rather than converting it to fiat for the down payment.
Coinbase says both loans share the same interest rate and amortization schedule, and are repaid through a single monthly payment. It also states that the pledged Bitcoin is returned after the mortgage is fully repaid or refinanced—subject to the applicable loan terms.
In practice, the collateral requirement is designed to cushion volatility. The 250% pledge-to-loan threshold means the down payment collateral is over-collateralized relative to the down payment loan itself.
What happens if BTC falls or payments slip
One of the most important investor and borrower questions is whether Bitcoin volatility would force liquidation in response to price movements alone. According to Coinbase, declines in the Bitcoin price by themselves do not trigger margin calls or cause changes to the mortgage terms.
Instead, the main trigger for collateral action is tied to repayment performance. Coinbase states that Better may liquidate the pledged BTC if a borrower becomes 60 days delinquent on payments. That distinction matters: the risk mechanism is linked to mortgage delinquency and loan obligations rather than an automatic adjustment based purely on market price swings.
Eligibility and borrower requirements
Coinbase says the program is limited to US residents and requires a verified Coinbase account. Borrowers also remain subject to Better’s standard credit, income, and other underwriting requirements, meaning the offering does not remove conventional mortgage qualification criteria.
For certain users, there is an additional incentive. Coinbase One members are eligible for a 1% rebate from Better, according to Coinbase, with the rebate capped at $10,000. Coinbase says that rebate can be used toward closing costs and fees, aligning part of the benefit with transaction costs tied to home purchases or refinancing.
Better and Coinbase first unveiled the token-backed mortgage in March through an early-access program, and now the feature has been rolled out more broadly.
Earlier coverage described the initial rollout of Coinbase’s token-backed down payment concept for Fannie Mae loans here: Coinbase launches token-backed down payments for Fannie Mae loans.
Why this expands beyond one product: crypto in US mortgage underwriting
This Bitcoin-backed mortgage arrives amid a broader push to incorporate digital assets into US mortgage risk assessment and eligibility frameworks. In June 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals to consider cryptocurrency held on US-regulated centralized exchanges as an asset when assessing risk for single-family mortgages—without requiring that the crypto be converted to US dollars.
The FHFA directive also asked the two government-sponsored enterprises to evaluate risk-mitigation steps for crypto’s volatility and to submit proposed changes for board approval before the FHFA’s review. In other words, the regulatory prompt focused on how to incorporate digital assets into underwriting and risk management, not merely on allowing them as a marketing feature.
Other lenders have started taking similar steps. Cointelegraph previously reported that mortgage lender and servicer Newrez announced in January that it would recognize certain cryptocurrency holdings when evaluating mortgage applications starting in February, including for home purchases and refinancing. That effort points to an emerging trend: crypto is moving from a niche “side asset” consideration toward a more formal underwriting input, even if the exact mechanics vary by lender.
Housing affordability backdrop and what to watch next
The timing also matters given the broader affordability environment. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, citing data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, compiled figures showing median sales prices for new US homes around $400,000 in 2026—levels that remain historically elevated even as they have eased since earlier peaks.
For borrowers who hold Bitcoin, token-backed down payments could be attractive if they want to avoid selling during a volatile period. But the product still depends on traditional mortgage underwriting, and the collateral is not fully risk-free: the program’s terms allow liquidation if payments fall behind for 60 days.
Going forward, market participants will likely watch how widely the product expands, how lenders continue to refine collateral and delinquency mechanics, and whether broader FHFA-driven underwriting proposals translate into more standardized approaches across the mortgage industry.
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