BTC, ETH, XRP: U.S. to Consider Crypto Assets on Mortgage Applications
In what's being called a major shift, the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency is directing lenders to consider a person's cryptocurrency assets when evaluating home mortgage applications.
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The Housing Finance Agency has issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) to formally consider crypto as an asset in single-family mortgage assessments. The new order directs both housing finance agencies to develop proposals that include digital assets without requiring borrowers to liquidate them into U.S. dollars prior to a home loan closing.
The move is being viewed as a new era of crypto integration into traditional finance and comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to legitimize digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP (XRP).
New Approach
The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a social media post that the move aligns with President Trump's efforts 'to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.' Historically, cryptocurrency has been excluded from consideration in loan and mortgage applications due to its volatility and price swings, as well as the inability to easily verify reserves.
That approach is now changing as the U.S. federal government and institutions embrace crypto across banking, payments, and as policy. 'Cryptocurrency is an emerging asset class that may offer an opportunity to build wealth outside of the stock and bond markets,' states the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency's order.
The new directive restricts crypto mortgage consideration to digital assets that are stored on U.S.-regulated, centralized exchanges and can be clearly verified. It also requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop internal adjustments to account for crypto's market volatility. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has gained 11% this year.
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