Borrowing against bitcoin to buy real estate
Key points
- Fannie Mae counts bitcoin toward a down payment only after you sell it for dollars. A new type of loan lets you pledge it instead.
- Bitcoin-backed loans cost roughly 7.5% to 14% a year today, with short terms and about 50% loan-to-value.
- The math works only if bitcoin grows faster than the loan costs. A 37.5% price drop can force a sale of your collateral at typical terms.
What Fannie Mae allows
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide lets cryptocurrency count toward a down payment, closing costs and reserves once it has been converted to US dollars and deposited in a regulated bank, and the lender has verified it. It cannot be used for the earnest money deposit. That rule dates to May 2022 and is still in force.
Borrowing against an asset for the down payment is also allowed. Fannie Mae accepts borrowed funds secured by an asset for the down payment, closing costs and reserves, as long as the lender documents the loan terms, shows the funds reached you, and confirms the lender on that loan is not a party to the sale. Bitcoin is not on Fannie Mae's list of example assets, so each mortgage lender decides whether to accept it.
In June 2025 the Federal Housing Finance Agency directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for counting crypto without converting it. In March 2026, Better Home & Finance and Coinbase launched a Fannie Mae-eligible mortgage where you pledge bitcoin instead of selling it. Its terms, as published:
- 250% collateral. Bitcoin worth $250,000 backs a $100,000 down payment loan.
- Same rate and term as the mortgage, 15 or 30 years. The down payment loan is paid down along with the mortgage, not interest-only.
- No sale on a price drop. The bitcoin can be sold only after 60 days of missed payments, and only enough to bring the loan current.
- Pledged for the life of the mortgage. It comes back when the mortgage is paid off or refinanced. Selling the home means repaying the down payment loan first.
- The lender may re-lend your bitcoin and return an equal amount at payoff, not the same coins.
- No help qualifying. The down payment loan payment counts in your debt-to-income ratio, and the bitcoin does not count as income. Credit score and income rules are unchanged.
What still applies to every Fannie Mae loan: earnest money cannot come from bitcoin; sold bitcoin must be converted, deposited and traced to your own account; and the standard minimum down payment and debt-to-income limits hold. Published reports differ on whether the pledged loan is also recorded against the home, which would count toward combined loan-to-value. Ask the lender.
Three ways to use bitcoin in a purchase
1. Sell bitcoin for the down payment
The standard path. Convert, deposit, document, then use a regular mortgage. Simple, but selling is a taxable event and you give up the bitcoin.
2. Pledge bitcoin for the down payment
A conventional first mortgage on the home, plus a second loan secured by your bitcoin that covers the down payment. You keep the bitcoin, but it stays locked as collateral.
3. Borrow against bitcoin for the whole deal
Take a bitcoin-backed loan and buy the property with the cash, or use a crypto mortgage lender such as Milo. This suits investors and cash buyers, but most of these loans run 1 to 5 years, not 30.
Lenders and current rates
| Lender | Rate | Loan-to-value | Term | Minimum | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch | 7.74% to 10.49% APR by loan size, fixed for the term. From 7.25% at $10 million and up. | Up to 60% | Up to 12 months, renewable | Not stated. Smallest tier is under $250,000. | Held at Anchorage Digital. States collateral is never lent out. Not available in CA, DE, MS, MT, NV, ND, RI or VT. |
| SALT | 8.24% to 9.75% APR, fixed for 3 or 5 years. Lower at 30% LTV. | 30% or 50% | 3 or 5 years | Not stated | No origination or prepayment fees. Its 1-year rates are not stated as fixed and are not shown here. |
| Strike | From 7.75% APR, fixed for the term. Example: 11.25% on $10,000 for 12 months. | Example at 50%. 72 hours notice before a margin call. | Term loan | Not stated | Offers a loan with no price-based liquidation while payments are current. Select states. |
| Ledn | 9.25% to 11.49%, lower on larger loans. Rate holds until renewal. | Starts at 50%. Sold at 80%. | 12 months | $500 | States collateral is not lent out for yield. |
A worked example
You need a $60,000 down payment and pledge bitcoin at 50% loan-to-value. That ties up $120,000 of bitcoin.
- Interest: $4,650 a year at 7.75%. $6,594 at 10.99%. $8,508 at 14.18%.
- Break-even: bitcoin has to grow faster than your loan rate, every year you carry the loan, for this to beat simply selling.
- Liquidation: if the lender sells at 80% loan-to-value, a 37.5% drop in bitcoin, from $120,000 to $75,000 of collateral, triggers it. Bitcoin has fallen further than that more than once.
Before you borrow
- Borrow well below the maximum. Lower loan-to-value buys you room when the price drops.
- Match the loan term to the property. A 12-month loan on a 10-year hold means refinancing, maybe in a bad month.
- Know who holds your bitcoin and whether they can lend it out.
- Ask your CPA how interest, liquidation and repayment are taxed.
Want to run the numbers on a specific property? Try the sell or borrow calculator, or let's talk. Read why a real estate broker talks about bitcoin.