Fannie Mae to accept bitcoin and USDC-backed mortgages in first for US housing finance

Fannie Mae is preparing to accept crypto-backed mortgages for the first time, opening the door for homebuyers to use digital assets as collateral instead of converting them into cash.

The new mortgage product, developed with Better Home & Finance and Coinbase, will allow borrowers to pledge crypto holdings when securing a Fannie-backed loan, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday.

Fannie Mae plays a central role in the U.S. housing system, backing a large share of the country’s mortgages. Any change to its underwriting approach signals a broader shift in how financial institutions view digital assets.

As such, the news marks a major change in how crypto wealth can be used in traditional finance. Rather than selling tokens to fund a down payment, borrowers would retain exposure to their assets while using them to support mortgage approval.

Coinbase said supported assets will initially include bitcoin (BTC) and USDC (USDC), with pledged crypto held in custody via Coinbase Prime for the duration of the loan. Borrowers will not be required to liquidate their holdings, and assets are returned once the loan is repaid, a company spokesperson told The Block.

The structure uses a separate, overcollateralized loan to fund the down payment, while the primary Fannie Mae mortgage remains unaffected by crypto price movements.

There’s been a widening push to integrate crypto into mainstream financial channels under President Donald Trump’s administration. Policymakers have recently taken steps that could expand crypto’s role across retirement markets and investment products, while major institutions like the NYSE and Nasdaq continue to integrate tokenization technology to bridge Wall Street and decentralized finance.