Crypto Heads Toward Housing Market in Latest Mainstreaming Move

Qualifying for a mortgage because of your Dogecoin holdings may soon be moving from fantasy to reality. As “Crypto Week” sees pro-crypto legislation move through the US House of Representatives and bitcoin hits a new record, crypto backers are contemplating a government-sanctioned foray into the housing market. 

Federal officials are pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto holdings in their mortgage risk assessments, a change that’d put digital assets on similar footing with stocks and cash savings.

Shaky Foundations

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee more than half of US mortgages, have been under government control since 2008 when the two organizations suffered heavy losses after backing risky loans that helped fuel a housing bubble, ultimately freezing credit markets and spurring a global financial crisis.

After their near-collapse, the two firms have been more risk-averse in their investments. Including crypto in the picture would signal a shift away from that ethos:

• Currently, potential homebuyers have to cash out their crypto and often wait months for their digital assets to meet banks’ “seasoning” guidelines. Alternatively, a handful of startups have emerged that offer bitcoin-backed mortgages, but they aren’t supported by Fannie and Freddie. 
• The new rules could let homebuyers keep their crypto and use it to qualify for loans through mainstream banks, making digital assets a direct part of the housing market’s financial underpinning, a task for which critics say crypto is too volatile. 

William Pulte, who heads the agency that regulates Fannie and Freddie, posted on X that the new directive is in line with President Trump’s vision to make the US “the crypto capital of the world.” 

New Neighbors: The housing market could use more buyers. As of April, Redfin found that there were 34% more sellers than buyers looking for homes, and loosening the rules around crypto could roll out the welcome mat for long-term crypto HODLers. About 5% of home buyers said in May that they sold off crypto to help make a down payment, and that figure is likely higher in certain markets (ahem, San Francisco). But even as the government increasingly pushes crypto into the mainstream, concerns about its volatility and security could make it less welcome in a sector as fundamental to the US’s financial well-being as housing.