US regulator mulls crypto mortgages in the middle of the housing crisis

The US Federal Home Loan Regulator looks at how crypto handles can help qualify mortgage seekers for home loans. The move came amid the collapse of the number of mortgage applications in recent years as the US has experienced a housing crisis.
In a statement on X on June 23, Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Says His agency is “studying the use of (SIC) cryptocurrency holdings because it is associated with qualified for mortgages.”
Homeownership has remained relatively stable in the last 50 years in the US, with almost 62% of homes owned by the population. However, the number of new applicants has seen a sharp decline in recent years.
While some boutique lenders allow lenders to use their crypto as collateral, studying and recognition from FHFA represents a major step forward for the adoption of crypto, especially amidst the mortgage -applications application numbers.
FHFA goes to pro-crypto with mortgages, as housing rates decrease
While the details in the details, Pulte’s pro-crypto comments came at a time when the US housing market was experiencing serious difficulties.
The number of mortgage origins – that is, the process by which a lender is working with a borrower to generate a mortgage loan – descends to nearby record lows in the middle of 2024 and improves a bit in the first quarter of 2025. The fall of origins, and especially with refinancing, is linked to certain factors.
First, the housing supply is not growing enough to meet the demand. Construction is caught, more housing is purchased by investors, rather than by homeowners, and older homeowners are still living at home than moving to older homes.
The borrowing also gets more expensive, and many relate to the fall of origins at the Federal Reserve’s higher interest rates to combat inflation. Pulte criticized Fed rate policies, which will be called for the resignation of Chair Jerome Powell, who will testify in front of Congress on June 26.
Among these headwinds, Pulte is looking for ways to borrow more things for those with home.
FHFA’s approved can open Crypto lenders
Recognizing the Crypto officer with FHFA can open the size of federal lending programs for more lenders. In 2024, only FHA released more than 760,000 single-family mortgage worth $ 230 billion.
Until January 23, 2025, most banks could not offer crypto or mortgage-supported loans due to Accounting Bulletin No. 121, a banking rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission that requires financial institutions to count cryptocurrencies as a liability rather than a property in their sheet of balance. The rule was quickly removed after President Donald Trump’s office.
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However, loans that are secured through federal programs such as FHA, VA and USDA are currently not allowing borrowers to use their crypto as collateral. In fact, some federal loans may not even allow dollars to avoid crypto sales to be used for payments, according to 99Bitcoins editor Sam Cooling.
Personal financial expert Andrew Lokenauth said the homeowners who were looking to buy with their proceeds that Bitcoin would have to “be careful to document everything and save the paperwork.”
Bitcoin advocates praised Pulte’s openness to Bitcoin (BTC), with some say that there are already features that lenders prefer – for example, a transparent paper path – developed in digital assets.
Mitchell Askew, an analyst on the Bitcoin Mining-As-a-Service Blockware, said that the liquidity and transparent preservation of the asset, especially its public blockchain, made it a “perfect collateral” for home loans.
CJ Konstantinos, founder of the Bitcoin Mortgage and Bond Company People’s Reserve, said Bitcoin could even help with the market-supported market-supported by the FHFA’s mortgage by regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “It’s no brain.”
Who do crypto loans like?
There are already a small number of lenders that allow borrowers to offer their crypto as collateral, but they are few and far between. They are more toward home buyers’ investment class and carry risks that some may not be prepared in the stomach.
Milo (formerly Milocredit) approved loans for debtors immediately, but they must first show that they have enough crypto to cover the entire loan amount. Milo CEO Josip Rupena said many clients buy their second home, vacation properties or investment ownership.
“Many have strong income, but traditional banks do not qualify them for the full cost of these houses,” he said.
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Strike, another company that offers Collateralized Bitcoin loans, states that there are some risks to crypto loans in their current form. Volatility is a major factor. If the BTC price decreases dramatically, the rate increases the rate, “which can trigger margin calls or destroying-forced sales during inopportune hours.”
Lenders are also open to risk. A commentator said, “Danger models for this will be discouraged. Traditional mortgages are assumed to be relatively stable income and properties. Now you talk to lenders that the net value can swing 50% a week. How can you stress a portfolio when your collateral is with all of the Bitcoin to Defi tokens?”
But the owner of crypto in the US is growing, with lawmakers and regulators in Washington moving to implement policies and legal frameworks that are friendly to the industry.
Recent studies have shown that crypto is not only the remit of the Uber-rich crypto bros but is especially seen as a legitimate retail owned by normal investors. About 20% of Americans, around 65 million people, is now estimated to have crypto -owned by cryptoAccording to the “2025 State of Crypto” report of the National Cryptocurrency Association.
Their investments are also not astronomical; Some 74% of Crypto portfolios in the US cost less than $ 50,000.
Crypto is allowed for payments or as collateral can unlock homeownership for the increasing number of investors if Bitcoin joins the list of other security they can use to get a mortgage.
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