We may look back on this in a few years and say, “Remember how we thought that was a big deal back then? Now, it’s everywhere.” The first cryptocurrency-backed conventional mortgage has been issued to a couple in Michigan.
If the future of finance is tokenization, this will be the first of many. Converting traditional real-world assets — such as currency, real estate, stocks, and bonds — into digital tokens on a blockchain is expected to reframe the world’s financial infrastructure.
And the future began in June 2026.
A ‘definitely compelling’ bitcoin-backed home loan option
Better and Coinbase have issued their first Fannie Mae-backed crypto mortgage to Joe and Amy of Ann Arbor, Michigan. When Joe first considered getting a mortgage and making a down payment with bitcoin, his options seemed limited.
“The two alternatives me and my wife were looking at was either selling and paying long-term cap gains or using a margin loan type structure, which is quite stressful because the interest rate is obviously very variable. And then there’s also a margin call risk associated with that, which is obviously scary,” Joe told Yahoo Finance.
Then he heard about the Better/Coinbase crypto-backed mortgage.
“It was definitely compelling,” he added. His wife, Amy, was “a little skeptical,” Joe admits. “I think now that we’re all finished with it, it’s all in a better spot. But yeah, definitely telling her that, ‘We’re doing this new exotic mortgage product that’s never been done before. It’ll probably work out fine.'”
However, their bitcoin is safe and sound in a custody account that guarantees their down payment, and, with the expectation of future bitcoin appreciation, Joe said he now has “positive feelings” about the mortgage industry.
“For me, as a person who’s maybe a little more with the bitcoin ethos of you’re skeptical of centralized government — like, ‘Oh, this is a government program that’s clearly working for me and my family.’ That’s awesome.”
The beginning of tokenized asset loans
Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better, believes crypto-backed conventional mortgages are a generational next step.
“Americans used to keep all their money in banks,” Garg told Yahoo Finance. “People investing in stocks, bonds, and all that was for rich people. Now, American households have $35 trillion in stocks, bonds, and digital assets, and only $5 trillion deposited in their checking or savings accounts in a bank. Young people are investing in digital assets. They’re not keeping their money in cash, earning zero percent in the banking system.”
The tokenized mortgage begins with cryptocurrencies and stablecoins but will inevitably expand to other digital assets, such as tokenized Tesla and SpaceX stock, and tokenized IBM and Con Ed stock, he said.
Roy Zhang, director of product at Coinbase, said the crypto mortgage process is all digital.
“We connect our millions of users who have significant bitcoin holdings on Coinbase with this ability to get crypto-backed mortgages with their bitcoin portfolio,” Zhang said. “They click through on our product interface. They go through the application process on Better. Better approves them. They sign in to their Coinbase account, and with a single click, their bitcoin moves into a custodial wallet. And then they’re done.”
Fannie Mae backs the Better/Coinbase crypto mortgage as a conventional loan, and that’s important, Garg said.
“The fact that it complies with the underwriting requirements of a Fannie Mae conforming mortgage means that Fannie Mae, which last year, with Freddie Mac, purchased $1.2 trillion of mortgages from the market, almost $40 billion a day. It just means it’s a standard product in the financial system. It’s a huge deal because it basically means that you have a U.S. government-sponsored enterprise accepting digital assets as a replacement for cash in a bank account as collateral.”
Conventional crypto loan details
While Joe and Amy are the first to get a 30-year, fixed-rate crypto-backed conventional mortgage, a full rollout of the product is set for later this summer. In the meantime, there’s a waitlist on the Better.com website.
Who is showing the most interest?
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76% of all respondents are Coinbase users
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37% hold $500,000 or more in crypto
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63% expect to buy a home in the next six months
Based on the waitlist data, Better estimates a projected loan volume of $250 million.
Currently, loans can be pledged with bitcoin and USDC. The digital assets are pledged as collateral without liquidation, preventing capital gains taxes and allowing for future appreciation.
Coinbase One members are eligible for a rebate equal to 1% of the mortgage amount, capped at $10,000. The rebate is paid by Better and can be applied as a lender credit toward closing costs or to further lower the borrower’s interest rate.