Better and Coinbase Make Bitcoin-Backed Mortgages Generally Available

Wednesday. Better Mortgage and Coinbase flipped their Bitcoin-collateralized mortgage to general availability, opening it to every Coinbase One member in the United States who can pass underwriting. (Cointelegraph)

Why now? Better said 41% of its pre-approved customers clear the income and credit bars yet lack the cash for a traditional down payment. That is the gap. The company has funded more than $110 billion in loans to date, so the pipeline is not hypothetical. (The Block)

The median sales price of a new US home sat near $400,000 in 2026, per US Census Bureau and HUD data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Put 20% down and you need roughly $80,000 in cash, or the equivalent in posted BTC. (Cointelegraph)

The product itself is two loans stapled together. One is a Fannie Mae-backed conforming mortgage. The other is a down-payment loan secured by Bitcoin, letting borrowers pledge bitcoin (BTC) rather than sell it. Available to Coinbase One members since August 12, the companies said, with the formal announcement dated August 26. (The Block)

A borrower posts crypto as collateral. Keeps the position. Closes on the house. The pledged BTC must be worth at least 250% of the down-payment loan and is moved to Better’s custodial account on Coinbase Prime, per Coinbase’s Help Center. (Cointelegraph)

Same interest rate on both loans. Same amortization term. One monthly payment covers everything, and pledged BTC is returned once the mortgage is fully repaid or refinanced, subject to loan terms.

Bitcoin price drops alone do not trigger margin calls or alter mortgage terms. Liquidation kicks in only at 60 days delinquent, Coinbase said.

Borrowers must be US residents with a verified Coinbase account and remain subject to Better’s credit, income, and underwriting requirements. Coinbase One members are eligible for a 1% lender credit toward closing costs and fees, capped at $10,000. That also applies to standard mortgages, HELOCs, and refinances. (The Block)

The companies first announced the token-backed mortgage in March through an early-access program. A waitlist opened in June. It pulled in projected loan volume of more than $260 million before general availability, with 76% of respondents already Coinbase One members and 60% planning to buy a home within six months. (The Block)

“The partnership has always been about expanding access to homeownership by meeting borrowers where they are,” Ziggy Jonsson, CTO at Better Mortgage, said in a statement. “By allowing Coinbase One members to pledge crypto as collateral without selling their holdings, we’re opening a new path toward homeownership for a generation of borrowers whose wealth increasingly lives onchain.” (The Block)

The policy backdrop is moving too. In June 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals to consider cryptocurrency held on US-regulated centralized exchanges as an asset in single-family mortgage risk assessments, without requiring conversion to US dollars. The directive required Fannie and Freddie to weigh risk-mitigation measures for crypto’s volatility and submit proposed changes to their boards before FHFA review. (Cointelegraph)

Newrez announced in January it would recognize certain cryptocurrency holdings when evaluating mortgage applications beginning in February, covering home purchases and refinancing. (Cointelegraph)

What the announcement does not cover: interest rate pricing relative to a standard Better mortgage. Loan size limits. The exact state footprint beyond the initial pilot. Better and Coinbase framed the expansion as nationwide, though neither specified whether availability is constrained by state-level lending rules. Holders, as ever, are divided.