A bitcoin-backed mortgage is a home loan that uses bitcoin either as pledged collateral or as a qualifying asset, so you can buy a house without selling your BTC or triggering capital gains tax. In 2026 there are three distinct structures: a Fannie Mae-conforming loan with a crypto-collateralized down payment (Better with Coinbase), crypto-collateralized non-QM mortgages with up to 100% financing (Milo), and qualify-with-crypto programs where nothing is pledged at all (LendFriend, Newrez, Rate, Newfi). A fourth route, Battery Finance, does the same thing for institutional commercial property rather than for a home.
We evaluated eight crypto-mortgage programs across three loan structures. Terms were verified against lender sites, the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, and primary filings on July 30, 2026. Lenders cannot pay for placement, and we do not rank these against each other overall, because the right structure depends entirely on whether you can tolerate a margin call. Our full approach is on the methodology page.
1. Best crypto mortgage lenders: quick verdict
Better+ Coinbase
NewrezSmart Series
NewfiSequoia DSCR
Battery Finance"Best for" here means best suited to that specific situation, on published terms. It is an editorial assessment, not a recommendation for you personally: we are a comparison publisher, not a lender, broker, or advisor.
2. What is a bitcoin-backed mortgage?
"Bitcoin mortgage" and "crypto mortgage" get used for three structurally different products. The difference decides whether a bitcoin crash can touch your house.
Type 1: a conforming mortgage with a pledged-crypto down payment. A standard Fannie Mae first mortgage plus a separate down-payment loan secured by pledged BTC or USDC and a second lien on the home. BTC is credited at 40% of market value (250% collateralization); USDC at 80% (125%). There are no margin calls: a price drop has no effect on either loan. Pledged crypto is liquidated only after 60 or more days of missed payments. Provider: Better with Coinbase.
Type 2: a crypto-collateralized non-QM mortgage. The loan is underwritten on pledged crypto rather than income. Up to 100% financing with no cash down. The trade-off is margin call risk: Milo issues a margin call if collateral value falls roughly 65-69% from origination, with a 72-hour window to add collateral or pay down principal. Provider: Milo.
Type 3: qualify-with-crypto. Nothing is pledged. Crypto counts toward assets, reserves, or imputed income at a haircut, about 50% being typical, mostly through non-QM programs. You bring a cash down payment, converted to USD. No margin calls, because there is no collateral. Providers: LendFriend, Newrez, Rate, Newfi.
| Type 1: Conforming + pledge | Type 2: Crypto-collateralized | Type 3: Qualify-with-crypto | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTC pledged | Yes (down-payment loan only) | Yes (whole loan) | No |
| Margin calls | No | Yes | No |
| Cash down payment | No (crypto replaces it) | Optional, to zero | Yes, 20%+ |
| Income documentation | Full | Minimal | Asset-based |
| Pricing | Conforming (premium reports conflict: 0 to +1.5pp) | 7-9% non-QM | Standard or non-QM quote |
BTC-backed down payment
A normal Fannie Mae mortgage, plus a second loan, secured by pledged bitcoin, that funds your cash down payment.
Crypto-collateralized mortgage
Your bitcoin secures the loan itself, often with little or no down payment, underwritten on assets rather than a paycheck.
Qualify with crypto
Your bitcoin is counted as a reserve asset to help you qualify, with a haircut, and is never pledged or locked up.
Bitcoin-enhanced commercial credit
Commercial real estate and bitcoin fused into one collateral package, at institutional deal sizes. Not a consumer home loan.
3. The best bitcoin mortgage lenders in detail
Eight programs, in the order they appear above. Terms are each lender's own published figures, verified 30 July 2026.
Better+ CoinbaseThe first Fannie Mae-conforming crypto-backed mortgage
Better reports that 41% of its pre-approved customers qualify on income and credit but lack down-payment cash. This product addresses that directly: pledge crypto instead of selling it, keep the tax deferral, and take a Fannie Mae-eligible first mortgage. Coinbase One members get a 1% lender credit up to $10,000, and pledged USDC earns rewards. First loan closed 8 June 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the nationwide rollout is still a waitlist.
Strengths
- Conforming structure
- No margin calls at any price
- One rate and term across both loans
Trade-offs
- A $100k down payment ties up ~$250k of BTC
- Requires a Coinbase account
- Waitlist, not instant availability
- Rate premium not published
Milopledged100% financing crypto mortgage
Milo has originated more than $100M in crypto mortgages since 2022, including a $12M single loan in February 2026, and reports zero margin calls across its portfolio to date. That is the only public performance record in the category, and it carries one caveat: the portfolio began after the 2022 trough, so it has not been tested by a drawdown of that size.
Strengths
- Zero cash down possible
- Underwritten on collateral, not income documents
- Longest track record in the category
Trade-offs
- Real margin call mechanics, unlike Better
- Custodial pledge for the life of the loan
- State coverage not published
- Non-QM pricing above conforming
MiloSelf-CustodyKeep your keys
Structurally this is qualification-based rather than collateralized, and it is the only named product built for holders who will not move coins to a custodian. If self-custody is non-negotiable, this and the qualify-with-crypto programs are your options.
LendFriendQualify with crypto via asset depletion
Holdings are discounted 50%, then spread over the loan term as imputed monthly income. $2M in BTC is about $1M countable, or roughly $2,800 a month of qualifying income on a 30-year spread. Nothing is pledged; the stack stays invested. Licensed in CA, CO, CT, GA, FL, ID, IL, MD, MI, NC, NH, NJ, OH, OR, TN, TX and VA.
Strengths
- No pledge and no margin calls
- Priced off standard programs
Trade-offs
- Real cash down payment required
- The 50% haircut means you need roughly twice the balance
- Quote-based pricing
NewrezSmart SeriesNon-QM crypto qualification at scale
BTC, ETH, SEC-approved spot ETFs and USD-backed stablecoins count for asset verification and income estimation without liquidation. Assets must sit on US-regulated exchanges, regulated brokerages or OCC-chartered banks. Non-QM only (SmartSelf, SmartEdge, SmartVest), for purchase and refinance, on primary and investment property. The haircut is described only as "market-adjusted valuation". Newrez is the first top-25 US lender in the category.
RateRateFiNationwide qualify-with-crypto
Crypto counts as reserves and can supplement income at a volatility-adjusted market value. There is no liquidation and no custody transfer — Rate never holds your coins. Non-QM framework covering purchase, refinance and cash-out, on primary residences, second homes and investment property. The down payment must be converted to USD first.
NewfiSequoia DSCRCrypto reserves for DSCR investment loans
Newfi’s Sequoia DSCR program lets an investor qualify on rental income while counting crypto toward the reserve requirement without selling. Direct Bitcoin and Ethereum must sit in a Coinbase account and count for up to 25% of current value; crypto mutual funds and ETFs held at a traditional provider such as Fidelity or Schwab count for up to 50%. Crypto-based funds are capped at a combined 50% of the total reserve requirement, and statements must be dated within 60 days. Guidelines published 23 January 2026.
Strengths
- No pledge, no custody transfer, no margin call
- Qualify on rental income rather than personal income
Trade-offs
- Reserves only — the down payment still closes in US dollars
- Direct holdings must be at Coinbase specifically
- Investment property, not a primary residence
Battery FinanceCommercial bitcoin-enhanced credit
Battery Finance, Inc. is a specialty finance platform launched by the Philadelphia investment manager Newmarket Capital, and a relying adviser of Newmarket Investment Management, LP. It fuses institutional-quality commercial real estate with bitcoin into a single collateral package, and borrowers can either contribute their own bitcoin or use loan proceeds to add it. The structure avoids volatility-driven liquidation and gives the borrower structured participation in bitcoin appreciation over the life of the loan. Its inaugural deal was a $12.5M loan on the $16.5M Bank Street Court in Old City, Philadelphia — three 19th-century buildings holding 63 residential lofts and three commercial spaces — with roughly 20 BTC in the collateral package.
The two-loan shape of the conforming route is the part most coverage gets wrong, so it is worth seeing drawn out:
4. Crypto mortgage rates and terms: full comparison
Custody and credit-score details are in each lender's section above. Better with Coinbase, and Milo's pledged product, hold coins with Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Custody, or BitGo; the qualify-with-crypto lenders never take custody. For where bitcoin-backed borrowing costs sit week to week, see our Bitcoin Loan Rate Index.
5. Do crypto mortgages have margin calls? A stress test
Type 2 does. Types 1 and 3 do not. Here is what a bitcoin crash the size of 2021-22, roughly 72% peak to trough over twelve months, would do to each structure today.
Better+ CoinbaseUnaffectedNothing happens if you keep paying. The 60% haircut is fully pierced, but there is no top-up requirement and no price-triggered liquidation. Liquidation only follows 60+ days of missed payments.
MilopledgedMargin callThe ~65–69% threshold is crossed. You get 72 hours to add collateral or pay down principal, or face partial liquidation. Milo reports zero margin calls to date, on a portfolio that began after the 2022 trough.
Gone long before a 72% drop: a ~30% fall triggers a margin call and ~38% hits typical liquidation thresholds. This is the risk you take on Path B.
Strikevolatility-protectedNo price triggerNo price-triggered liquidation while payments are current (45% max LTV, 6-month term). Partial liquidation only after a missed payment plus a 10-day grace period.
Nothing is pledged. Qualification was settled at closing, and a later crash does not reopen it.
The follow-on risk nobody prices: a forced liquidation is a taxable disposition. If your collateral is sold in a crash, you owe capital gains on coins you no longer hold, calculated against your original basis. That can mean a large tax bill in the same month you lost the position. Every structure above should be evaluated on that scenario, not just on the rate. Our liquidation calculator will price the trigger for a given loan, and no-margin-call options are compared separately.
6. How to use a bitcoin loan with a standard mortgage
There are four ways to combine bitcoin with a home purchase. Three avoid selling, and each maps differently onto a standard mortgage process.
Which path fits your situation?
Pledge into the mortgage
Better/Coinbase or Milo
BTC loan funds the down payment
Any mortgage lender
Qualify with crypto
LendFriend · Newrez · RateFi · Newfi
Sell and season
Convert to USD, document, buy
Path B: how underwriting treats a bitcoin loan as a down-payment source
This is the least documented combination and the one most bitcoin-loan borrowers ask about. The mechanics:
- Secured borrowed funds are an allowed down-payment source. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-15 states that borrowed funds secured by an asset are "an acceptable source of funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves, since borrowed funds secured by an asset represent a return of equity." A bitcoin-backed loan is that structure. One caveat: the guideline's example list is "automobiles, artwork, collectibles, real estate, or financial assets, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, and 401(k) accounts." Crypto is not named, so acceptance is a lender-overlay decision. Some lenders will take it with full documentation, some will not. Disclose early and get the answer in writing. Unsecured borrowed cash, by contrast, is not an allowed source.
- The payment usually counts against DTI, but ask about the financial-assets carve-out. B3-4.3-15 requires the lender to "consider monthly payments for secured loans as a debt," and if the loan has no monthly payment, to "calculate an equivalent amount and consider that amount as a recurring debt." So a $100,000 bitcoin loan at around 10.5% adds roughly $875 a month to your DTI, and structures with no monthly payment still get an imputed one. But the same section then says that "when loans are secured by the borrower's financial assets, monthly payments for the loan do not have to be considered as long-term debt." Whether a lender treats bitcoin as a financial asset is the same overlay question as above, and it is worth asking about explicitly, because the answer can swing your qualifying ratio by hundreds of dollars a month. Do not assume either way; get it in writing.
- Season the funds or document the trail. Cleanest: land the proceeds in your bank account 60 or more days (two statements) before applying. Inside that window you need the loan agreement, the disbursement record, and a matching bank deposit. Do not route the cash through an exchange on the way, because that reopens crypto-sourcing documentation.
- Borrow at a conservative LTV. A margin call during escrow can end the purchase. At 50% starting LTV, a ~30% BTC drop triggers most lenders' margin calls; at 30-35% LTV your buffer roughly doubles. For this use case, a structure with no price-triggered liquidation, such as Strike's volatility-protected loan, trades a higher rate for certainty through closing. Plan the exit: pay down or refinance the bitcoin loan after closing.
- Keep earnest money separate. Fannie Mae states plainly that virtual currency "may not be used for the deposit on the sales contract (earnest money)." Pay it from the seasoned USD account.
A worked example: $500,000 home, 20% down
You hold 4 BTC with a $40,000 cost basis on the 2.5 BTC involved. At a spot price around $65,000, that stack is worth roughly $260,000. (Check the live rate index for today's numbers before running your own version.)
- Path B (bitcoin loan): borrow $100,000 against 2.5 BTC at about 35% LTV. A margin call would need roughly a 45%+ drop from spot at typical triggers. Season 60 days, then take any conventional mortgage. Monthly cost is the mortgage payment plus around $875 of bitcoin-loan interest. You keep all BTC upside.
- Path D (sell): selling 2.5 BTC realizes about $120,000 of gains, which costs roughly $18,000-$29,000 of federal tax at 15-20% long-term capital gains rates, plus state tax, and you give up the upside on 2.5 BTC. No extra monthly payment.
- Path A (Better): no bitcoin-loan payment and no margin call risk, but about $250,000 of BTC is pledged to replace the $100,000 down payment, locked until payoff.
- Path C (qualify-with-crypto): you still fund $100,000 in cash, but your holdings get you approved without income documents, and nothing is pledged.
The break-even depends on your basis, your state tax, and what bitcoin does next. Our sell versus borrow comparison and its calculator put your own numbers to it.
Stage-by-stage checklist (any path)
- Pre-approval: disclose crypto holdings up front. Ask the loan officer which paths their shop supports. Most support only D; a growing set support B with documentation; A and C are limited to participating lenders. Get the overlay answer in writing.
- Underwriting: 60 or more days of exchange or custodian statements. For self-custody, expect wallet verification through test transactions proving control, an approach used in a $4M non-QM close in 2025.
- Appraisal to clear-to-close: freeze. No new bitcoin borrowing, no collateral top-ups from accounts underwriting has already seen, no large transfers. Re-verification happens days before closing.
- Closing: wire from the seasoned USD account only.
- After closing: set price alerts against any pledged collateral's margin call level, calendar the bitcoin loan's term end, and revisit refinancing when the GSE crypto-reserve rules change (see below).
7. Taxes: what pledging bitcoin does and doesn't avoid
- Pledging is not a disposition. Using BTC as collateral, whether in a Better and Coinbase pledge, a Milo mortgage, or a standalone bitcoin loan, does not trigger capital gains tax. This is the core reason these products exist. The IRS treats digital assets as property, so it is the sale, not the borrowing, that is the taxable event.
- Forced liquidation is a disposition. If a lender sells your collateral, whether through a margin call or 60+ day delinquency at Better, you realize gains against your original basis at that moment: a tax bill on top of losing the position, most likely in a down market.
- Selling is a disposition. Path D realizes gains up front, with short-term versus long-term treatment depending on your holding period.
- Interest deductibility differs by path. Interest on the conforming first lien follows normal mortgage-interest rules. Better's down-payment loan carries a second lien on the home, which may support acquisition-debt treatment. A standalone bitcoin loan is secured by the coins rather than the house, so its interest is generally not mortgage interest. This is CPA territory; get advice on your specific structure.
- Document basis now. Whichever path you take, both underwriting and any future disposition go easier with clean per-lot acquisition records.
We go deeper in Is borrowing against bitcoin a taxable event?. This is general information, not tax advice.
8. The regulatory picture: Fannie Mae, FHFA, and what changes next
In June 2025 the FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals counting crypto held on US-regulated exchanges as mortgage reserves without conversion to USD. As of July 2026 the selling guides are unchanged: Fannie Mae's virtual-currency rule, B3-4.1-04, still requires that virtual currency be "exchanged into U.S. dollars" and "held in a U.S. or state regulated financial institution," verified in dollars before closing, for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves. Everything described as "no-conversion" today therefore runs through non-QM programs, or through Better's second-lien structure, which keeps only the first lien conforming.
The directive has drawn scrutiny: eight senators asked FHFA for its risk analysis in April 2026, and legislation to codify the directive has been introduced. If and when the GSE guidelines change, qualify-with-crypto moves from non-QM into the conventional mainstream. That is the single biggest thing to watch in this market.
9. Risks to weigh before pledging bitcoin for a mortgage
- Volatility is the operating environment. BTC was roughly 40-50% below its October 2025 peak when the Better and Coinbase product launched. Know your product's exact liquidation trigger and cure window before you sign; see the stress test above.
- A liquidation undoes the tax benefit, and it usually happens at the worst possible price.
- Custody concentration. Pledged paths place coins with Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Custody, or BitGo for the life of a long-dated loan. Milo's self-custody product and all Type 3 programs avoid this. The custody and rehypothecation guide covers what to ask.
- These loans price above conforming. Non-QM crypto products carry a premium, and Better's premium is unconfirmed, with reports ranging from none to +1.5pp. Compare against Path D's all-in cost including the tax bill.
- The category is young. The only public performance data is Milo's: zero margin calls across roughly $100M, in a portfolio that began after 2022. No third-party default data exists yet.
10. Frequently asked questions
Can you buy a house with bitcoin without selling it? Yes, three ways: pledge BTC for the down payment inside a conforming loan (Better with Coinbase), take a crypto-collateralized mortgage (Milo), or use holdings to qualify without pledging (LendFriend, Newrez, RateFi). Each avoids a taxable sale.
Can I get a Fannie Mae conforming loan with bitcoin? Yes, since June 2026. In the Better and Coinbase structure the first mortgage is Fannie Mae-conforming, and pledged BTC or USDC secures a separate down-payment loan with a second lien. Fannie Mae's own guidelines still require crypto to be converted to USD for standard loans.
Do crypto mortgages have margin calls? It depends on the type. Better with Coinbase: no, since liquidation happens only after 60 or more days of missed payments. Milo: yes, at roughly a 65-69% collateral drawdown, with a 72-hour cure window. Qualify-with-crypto programs: never, because nothing is pledged.
What is the haircut on bitcoin collateral? Better and Coinbase credit BTC at 40% of market value (250% collateralization) and USDC at 80%. Qualify-with-crypto lenders typically discount holdings about 50% before counting them as assets or income.
How much bitcoin do I need for a $100,000 down payment? About $250,000 of BTC pledged at Better and Coinbase; about $285,000 borrowed against at 35% LTV on a standalone bitcoin loan; or none pledged with a qualify-with-crypto lender, where you bring cash and roughly $200,000 or more in holdings moves qualification at a 50% haircut.
Is pledging bitcoin for a mortgage a taxable event? No. Pledging is not a disposition. Selling is, and a forced liquidation of your collateral is. That last case means owing capital gains on coins you no longer hold. Not tax advice.
Will a bitcoin-backed loan hurt my mortgage application? It adds documentation and, in most cases, a monthly payment to your DTI, but funds borrowed against your own asset are an acceptable down-payment source under Fannie Mae guideline B3-4.3-15, subject to lender overlays. Season the proceeds 60 or more days, disclose early, and ask specifically whether the lender applies the guideline's carve-out for loans secured by financial assets.
Do any bitcoin mortgage lenders allow self-custody? Milo's Self-Custody Mortgage, where coins stay in your wallet at a maximum 75% LTV, and all qualify-with-crypto programs, which never take custody.
What happened to Figure's crypto mortgage and Moon Mortgage? Both are gone. Figure's Crypto Mortgage PLUS page returned a 404 when we checked on July 30, 2026; Figure still offers HELOCs and 12-month crypto-backed loans. Moon Mortgage appears to have shut down: moonmortgage.io returned a server error on the same date, and the .com domain now serves a parked-domain lander.
What credit score do I need for a crypto mortgage? Milo 660+, Better with Coinbase 680+, LendFriend 700+. Crypto-collateralized underwriting leans on the collateral more than FICO, while qualify-with-crypto programs follow their non-QM guidelines.
Better vs Milo: which is better? Different products. Better offers conforming pricing and no margin calls, but requires 250% BTC collateralization and full income documentation. Milo offers up to 100% financing with minimal income docs, but carries margin call risk and non-QM pricing. Deep pledge and safety versus leverage and flexibility.
What is a token-backed mortgage? Better and Coinbase's name for their product: a conforming first mortgage plus a down-payment loan collateralized by tokens. BTC and USDC today, with tokenized equities and other assets described as planned.
Ready to compare?
See live rates on the Bitcoin Loan Rate Index, run your numbers in the match calculator, or compare every bitcoin mortgage lender side by side on the bitcoin mortgage hub.
Keep reading
- Coinbase Bitcoin Mortgage: How the Better Partnership Works: inside the 250% pledge structure.
- Bitcoin Mortgages With No Margin Call: every no-liquidation option compared.
- How to Borrow Against Bitcoin: the mechanics of the standalone loan behind Path B.
This is not financial advice. borrow/on/bitcoin is a comparison publisher, not a lender, broker, or financial or tax advisor. Rates and terms shown were verified on July 30, 2026 and are subject to lender approval and change. Pledged collateral can be liquidated under the conditions in your loan agreement. We may earn referral fees when you apply through links on this site; this does not influence our data or rankings.