The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is looking into whether your Bitcoin or other crypto could count towards getting a mortgage. This could be a big deal for how banks figure out if you’re a good risk for a loan.
Crypto’s Path to Mortgage Eligibility
FHFA director William Pulte recently announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they’re studying how cryptocurrency holdings could be used when deciding if someone qualifies for a mortgage. This is a huge shift, potentially changing how traditional banks work with digital assets.
Before, banks couldn’t easily handle crypto in mortgages because of SEC rules. These rules made it expensive for banks to hold crypto on behalf of clients. But those rules changed in January 2025, opening the door for crypto to be more involved in financial services.
While some smaller companies do offer crypto-backed mortgages, they’re usually only for wealthy people or tech experts. These loans often involve using crypto as collateral, but with a catch: if the value of your crypto drops, you might have to put up more money.
What This Could Mean for Borrowers
Including crypto in mortgage assessments could impact both borrowers and lenders. A recent report showed that some lower-income families used crypto profits to pay down their mortgages. It also showed more borrowing in areas where people use a lot of crypto, meaning crypto is becoming a financial tool for more people.
The FHFA hasn’t said when or how this might happen, or even which cryptos would count. But just the fact they’re considering it shows crypto is becoming more accepted by regulators. Future discussions will likely focus on how risky crypto is, how much its value changes, and how to fairly value it.
Whether big US banks start offering crypto-integrated mortgages is still up in the air, but this shows how our ideas about what counts as “real” money are changing.