Coinbase, Better make token-backed mortgages generally available

Better Mortgage and Coinbase announced on Wednesday that their token-backed conforming mortgage is generally available to Coinbase One members, expanding a product that allows eligible borrowers to pledge crypto as collateral in the homeownership process.

The expanded offer became available to Coinbase One members on Aug. 12, the companies said in a statement.

The companies first announced the token-backed mortgage in March, with the first lien structured as a standard conforming mortgage under Fannie Mae guidelines, they said.

According to the statement, Coinbase One members approved for eligible Better home-financing products are eligible for a lender credit equal to 1% of the mortgage value, capped at $10,000. The credit applies to standard mortgages, home equity lines of credit and refinances.

Better said the credit is applied against closing costs and reflected on the borrower's closing disclosure.

The launch builds on early demand from a waitlist opened in June, per the statement. The companies said 76% of respondents were already Coinbase One users, and 60% said they planned to buy a home within six months. The waitlist represented more than $260 million in projected loan volume prior to general availability.

"This partnership has always been about expanding access to homeownership by meeting borrowers where they are," Ziggy Jonsson, chief technology officer at Better Mortgage, said. "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."

Earlier in June, the companies said the product would support bitcoin and USDC as collateral for the down payment.

Better has funded more than $110 billion in loans to date. The company said 41% of its pre-approved customers qualify based on income and credit but lack sufficient cash for a traditional down payment.