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| A house is for sale in Arlington, Virginia, July 13, 2023. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images |
In a move that could reshape the future of mortgage lending, the federal government is taking a major step toward recognizing cryptocurrency as part of a borrower's financial profile.
William Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has formally directed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for counting cryptocurrency holdings as qualifying assets in single-family home loan assessments. The decision represents a seismic shift in how mortgage eligibility might be evaluated and further underscores the Trump administration's increasingly aggressive push to integrate crypto into the mainstream financial system.
Pulte announced the order this week in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), calling the decision a transformative step for the housing and mortgage lending industries. “After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world,” Pulte wrote, “today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage.”
Under this directive, applicants would not need to convert their digital assets into US dollars to qualify for mortgage consideration. Instead, crypto assets provided they are held on US-based, regulated exchanges could be counted toward a borrower’s financial reserves when calculating their eligibility for home loans. This means that owning bitcoin, Ethereum, or other approved cryptocurrencies may help borrowers bolster their financial profile without liquidating holdings, a longstanding barrier for crypto-rich buyers in traditional lending models.
This development aligns with a broader wave of pro-crypto policymaking under the Trump administration, which has recently included the formation of a federal digital asset stockpile and the passage of legislation like the GENIUS Act aimed at creating regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and other digital assets.
David Sacks, White House AI and Crypto Czar, expressed his support for Pulte’s decision on X, describing it as a milestone in the integration of digital assets into American financial life.
The official order outlines a pragmatic albeit cautious framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It describes cryptocurrency as an "emerging asset class" that can offer meaningful pathways for Americans to build wealth outside traditional equity markets. The document emphasizes that while crypto assets have not historically played a role in mortgage underwriting, the time has come to reevaluate that stance as part of the broader effort to support financial inclusion and homeownership.
However, the directive is not without guardrails. Fannie and Freddie are instructed to count only those crypto assets that are stored on US-centralized exchanges, ensuring traceability and compliance with existing federal regulations. In addition, the order mandates that both firms assess and account for inherent risks associated with crypto volatility such as the potential for sharp price swings in their risk modeling. The aim is to responsibly expand access without compromising the stability of the mortgage system.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were placed under federal conservatorship during the 2008 financial crisis, have seen renewed interest from investors amid speculation that President Trump may seek to re-privatize the firms. Both companies’ shares have surged this year, reflecting renewed confidence in their long-term viability and political relevance.
While it may take months for Fannie and Freddie to finalize proposals and implement new guidelines, the FHFA’s move could pave the way for a new era of home lending one that better reflects the evolving asset landscape and the financial habits of a younger generation of digital-savvy Americans.
For now, prospective homebuyers with significant crypto holdings may finally have reason to believe that their digital portfolios could soon play a direct role in securing the American dream of homeownership.
