Better Mortgage and Coinbase have opened their cryptocurrency-collateral mortgage program to eligible Coinbase One members, allowing qualified homebuyers to pledge Bitcoin or USDC during the down-payment process while obtaining a conventional loan structured under Fannie Mae guidelines.
The broader rollout began Aug. 12 after the companies tested demand through a waitlist launched in June, according to their joint statement. The arrangement is aimed at Coinbase One subscribers who qualify for Better’s mortgage products and want to use part of their digital-asset holdings without selling them before purchasing a home.
Eligible borrowers can also receive a lender credit worth 1% of their mortgage amount, up to $10,000. Better said the credit can be used toward closing costs and will appear on the borrower’s closing disclosure. The offer applies to new home loans, refinances and home equity lines of credit.
A conventional mortgage paired with crypto collateral
The product is structured around a first-lien mortgage, meaning Better remains the primary lender secured by the home, as in a standard conforming mortgage. The crypto component is designed to support the borrower’s down payment rather than replace the mortgage with an on-chain loan.
That structure places the product closer to traditional housing finance than the crypto-backed lending models that became popular during the last market cycle. Many of those earlier products involved borrowing directly against digital assets, often with liquidation terms linked to token prices. Better and Coinbase are positioning their offering as a route into a conventional home loan for borrowers whose wealth is concentrated partly in crypto.
In June, the companies said Bitcoin and USDC would be eligible as collateral for the down-payment portion of the transaction. Bitcoin brings a liquid but volatile asset into the process, while USDC is intended to track the U.S. dollar and may be more practical for borrowers seeking to limit price swings during a property purchase.
The availability of a dollar-pegged token alongside Bitcoin could be particularly relevant during the gap between a mortgage approval and a closing date. Home purchases can take weeks to complete, and sharp moves in a pledged asset’s value could affect how much collateral a borrower must maintain.
Waitlist pointed to near-term buyer demand
Better and Coinbase said the waitlist represented more than $260 million in projected loan volume before the public availability of the program. The figure reflects potential demand rather than completed mortgages, but it suggests the companies found an audience among crypto holders already considering a home purchase.
According to the joint statement, 76% of waitlist respondents were existing Coinbase One subscribers and 60% said they expected to buy a home within six months. That concentration makes the rollout a targeted financial-services expansion rather than a general mortgage offering to all crypto holders.
Coinbase One is the exchange’s subscription service, and restricting access to its members gives the companies a defined customer base with an established relationship to Coinbase. Better, meanwhile, brings a licensed mortgage platform and conventional underwriting operation to the arrangement.
Better said it has funded more than $110 billion in loans. The company also said that 41% of its pre-approved customers qualify for financing based on their income and credit profiles but do not have sufficient cash for a traditional down payment. For crypto holders in that group, pledged assets could provide a way to meet a transaction requirement without immediately converting holdings into dollars.
Borrowing can defer a sale, but adds market risk
For borrowers with substantial unrealized gains in digital assets, using collateral instead of selling tokens may delay a taxable disposal. Selling Bitcoin or other appreciated crypto can generally create a capital-gains event, while borrowing against an asset does not itself constitute a sale.
That benefit depends on the borrower’s individual tax position and the loan’s final terms. It also comes with a trade-off: the borrower retains exposure to the crypto market while taking on a long-term housing obligation.
A buyer who sells crypto for a down payment eliminates the risk that those tokens fall after the sale. A buyer who pledges crypto keeps potential upside but also remains vulnerable to a price decline that could require additional collateral or other action under the lending agreement. Borrowers need to understand the collateral-maintenance rules before committing funds, particularly when using Bitcoin rather than a stablecoin.
The product also does not remove the standard financial tests involved in buying a home. Better said access is limited to borrowers approved for its financing products, meaning income, credit and other mortgage underwriting requirements remain central to the process.
Mortgage market pressure creates an opening
The rollout arrives as high property prices and limited inventory continue to complicate purchases for first-time buyers and households moving into more expensive markets. In that environment, the down payment has become one of the biggest barriers for people who have assets but limited cash readily available.
Crypto holders often face that exact mismatch. A portfolio can be large enough to represent meaningful wealth, yet converting it into cash may be unattractive because of taxes, market expectations or a desire to preserve long-term exposure. Better and Coinbase are attempting to turn that illiquid-in-practice wealth into a usable part of the home-financing process.
The program also extends crypto’s role in consumer finance beyond payments, trading and secured borrowing. Its success will depend less on headline demand than on whether borrowers are comfortable managing collateral volatility alongside the obligations of a mortgage.
For eligible Coinbase One members, the offering creates a new financing path: a conventional mortgage supplemented by crypto collateral, with the potential to preserve digital-asset exposure while addressing one of the largest cash requirements in a home purchase.
Want to leverage your crypto like these mortgage borrowers? Explore tokenized assets and real-world integration to expand your on-chain finance toolkit.
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