Original Title: Fannie Mae Partners With Coinbase To Allow Crypto And Stablecoin Payments For Home Loans And Mortgages
Original Author: The Winepress
Translated by: Peggy, BlockBeats

Editor’s note: What consequences will arise when “buying a house with crypto assets” transforms from a slogan into a financial structure supported by Fannie Mae?

For a long time, the core contradiction in the U.S. housing market has not changed: rising housing prices, stagnant incomes, and young people are systematically blocked from the down payment threshold. Traditional pathways rely on savings and credit, while crypto asset holders are trapped in a state of “having assets but lacking liquidity.” The collaboration between Coinbase and Fannie Mae is essentially opening a pathway—transforming on-chain wealth into real-world purchasing power for homes.

However, the key to this mechanism lies not in “whether one can buy a house,” but in “how and at what cost one can buy a house.” Essentially, it replaces savings with collateral and time with leverage: down payments no longer come from accumulation but from another loan; assets are no longer liquidated but are re-pledged. While the threshold is lowered, overall leverage is raised.

When crypto assets enter a regulated housing finance system backed by the government, it not only brings opportunities but may also shift risks—from liquidity issues to long-term interest rate and leverage pressures.

From a broader perspective, this may be the starting point for real estate tokenization. Stablecoins, on-chain credit, and asset pledging are gradually integrating into the traditional financial system. Housing becoming the focal point of this process is not surprising.

It is worth noting whether this truly opens a new doorway for young people or leads them into a more complex and leveraged financial system. The answer will take time to verify.

The following is the original text:

Earlier this week, the government-backed mortgage agency Fannie Mae announced a partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to allow cryptocurrency and stablecoin payments to support the issuance of home loans and mortgages.

In a press release published on March 26, Coinbase referred to this initiative as “a new path to homeownership.”

The generation squeezed out of the market and a “new path”

"Millions of Americans now have a new pathway to homeownership. Under the new crypto mortgage model supported by Better, potential homebuyers will soon be able to use Bitcoin or USDC from their Coinbase accounts to make down payments. These loans will be issued and serviced by Better and will receive support from Fannie Mae, just like other compliant mortgages.

For the tens of millions of Americans holding digital assets, crypto mortgages provide a new option to access housing in an increasingly tightening housing market."

Coinbase believes that, in the context of many Americans being excluded from the housing market, real estate tokenization is expected to alleviate this structural problem.

“Homeownership is one of the most important engines of intergenerational wealth accumulation, but the opportunity to access it is becoming increasingly difficult. The traditional housing system is more favorable to the older generation, who have benefited from decades of compounded growth in home equity, which is continually widening the gap between home prices and incomes.”

Previously, The WinePress also pointed out that a large number of Americans have indeed been “squeezed out” of the housing market, and this trend is persistent; without policy adjustments, it will only worsen.

In January this year, Donald Trump stated during a cabinet meeting that he did not want housing prices to fall but wanted them to continue to rise to protect the wealth of existing homeowners while providing young people with other pathways—such as the “50-year mortgage” he proposed.

Innovative loan structure: using crypto assets to “leverage” the down payment

Coinbase then explained the core logic and advantages of this mechanism, essentially addressing the key friction of “liquidity.”

In this model, crypto asset holders do not need to come up with all cash at once or sell assets to obtain a home loan. By incorporating digital assets into the underwriting process as collateral, on-chain wealth can be transformed into real-world purchasing power—broadening the pathway to homeownership while retaining long-term investment positions.

This product has a legal structure that is fundamentally similar to traditional mortgages, providing the same legal protections. The key difference is that borrowers do not need to make a cash down payment; instead, they obtain a separate loan by pledging crypto assets to cover the down payment.

Specifically, the “two loan” structure will be formed at the time of purchasing a home:

The first loan is a standard Fannie Mae mortgage against the property itself;

The second loan is for the cash down payment, secured by the crypto assets you pledged.

A key design feature of Better is that both loans have the same interest rate and amortization period, with the borrower only needing to repay a single combined monthly payment, which is unprecedented in the market.

For example, if you want to purchase a property worth $500,000, you can pledge $250,000 worth of Bitcoin to obtain a $100,000 loan for the down payment. During the term of the loan, your crypto assets will be held in Better’s Coinbase Prime account and returned after the loan is repaid. Furthermore, when borrowers choose to pledge Bitcoin, the loan terms will not change due to fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price; even with market volatility, your mortgage conditions will remain unchanged.

From a broader perspective, this product is seen as a key attempt for crypto assets to enter the real financial system. Stablecoins are widely used in global payments and fund management, tokenization is gradually permeating credit, sovereign debt, and capital markets, with housing finance viewed as the next focal point.

These new crypto mortgages represent the first step in integrating crypto assets into the core infrastructure of the U.S. housing finance system. This is a real manifestation of the “Everything Exchange” vision, not only trading various assets on-chain but also allowing these assets to be utilized in the real world. This proves that crypto assets can interoperate with regulated, government-backed systems, bringing greater economic freedom and broadening pathways to achieve the “American Dream.”

In an interview with CNBC, Better’s CEO Vishal Garg stated: “We have finally built the infrastructure that allows any tokenized asset in America to be pledged to help people achieve homeownership. It all starts with Bitcoin and USDC, but in the future, it can extend to Apple stock, Amazon stock, or any publicly traded mutual fund, bond fund, or even assets you hold in your retirement accounts (IRA)—all of which can be used to pledge for your home purchase.”

Coinbase’s consumer and business product head Max Branzburg added: “Mortgages backed by tokens are a significant step toward opening up homeownership for the younger generation facing barriers in traditional down payment savings.”

Costs and Risks: Higher Barriers or Another Form of Leverage?

However, this model is not without its costs.

CNBC pointed out that borrowers need to repay two loans simultaneously, which will significantly raise the overall costs.

The Wall Street Journal also explained this: The operation of this new mortgage product works as follows: Homebuyers first obtain a traditional 15 or 30-year mortgage supported by Fannie Mae from Better; meanwhile, homebuyers do not need to make a cash down payment but instead receive a separate loan by pledging Bitcoin or USDC (mainstream stablecoins) to cover the down payment.

Since the second loan replaces the cash down payment, borrowers need to pay interest on both loans simultaneously, which will significantly increase the overall cost of purchasing a home. The interest rates for the two loans are roughly comparable to typical Fannie Mae mortgage rates, or up to about 1.5 percentage points higher.

In other words, this plan essentially uses “leverage” instead of “savings.”

However, Better’s CEO Vishal Garg stated that the rates offered on their platform are still lower than competitors, and the interest rates and terms for both loans remain consistent. He stated: “You still retain the appreciation potential of the asset; in the case of USDC, the assets you hold and the income they generate can be used to hedge against mortgage interest expenses.”

The Wall Street Journal also cited a Redfin survey from 2025, which found that over 10% of millennials and Gen Z have sold crypto assets to pay for a home down payment.

From a broader perspective, this initiative is viewed as a key step in the overall process of real estate tokenization.

Tony Giordano, a real estate agent focused on the crypto space, stated in the Property Play podcast: “I don’t see how the entire real estate industry won’t migrate to the blockchain within the next 10 years.”

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