Better Home and Finance Partners With Coinbase for Fannie Mae Crypto Mortgages

Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ: BETR) and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) announced a partnership on March 26, 2026, to launch the first token-backed conforming mortgages available to American homeowners. These mortgage products are originated and serviced by Better, which is described as an AI-native mortgage originator, and are powered by Coinbase.

The mortgage products are designed to conform to Fannie Mae guidelines, allowing them to benefit from the same backing as other conforming mortgages. This partnership enables prospective homeowners to use approved cryptocurrency assets as collateral for a down payment instead of using cash.

Collateral and Loan Structure

Under the terms of the new product, borrowers can pledge specific approved cryptocurrency assets, namely bitcoin or USD coin, to fund their down payment. A central feature of this arrangement is that borrowers can pledge these assets without being required to liquidate their cryptocurrency holdings.

The financial structure of the product creates a dual-loan system for the homebuyer. The borrower effectively takes out a second loan on their down payment that is backed by their cryptocurrency assets, while simultaneously receiving a standard Fannie Mae-backed loan for the home itself.

Better stated that the inclusion of Fannie Mae backing will allow prospective homebuyers to access interest rates that are significantly lower than those found on existing cryptocurrency-backed mortgage products offered by other providers that do not have Fannie Mae backing.

Regulatory Background

The launch of these crypto-backed conforming mortgages follows a regulatory directive issued on June 26, 2025, by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte. Director Pulte ordered Fannie Mae to prepare a proposal for the FHFA regarding the consideration of prospective buyers’ cryptocurrency assets within the risk assessments of single-family mortgage loans.

The partnership between Better and Coinbase represents the first instance of cryptocurrency-backed mortgage products being accepted by Fannie Mae since the issuance of that directive.

Market Implications

The introduction of Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE)-backed crypto lending may create new opportunities for lenders and servicers within the residential mortgage market. Specifically, the ability to use cryptocurrency as collateral for conforming loans could open new avenues for the origination and refinancing of residential mortgages.