On June 25, 2025, the U.S. government’s top housing regulator—the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—announced a significant policy shift that could transform how Americans qualify for home loans. Under the leadership of Director William Pulte, the FHFA issued a formal directive to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that back the majority of single-family mortgages in the United States. The new instruction: begin developing methods to recognize cryptocurrency as a legitimate financial asset when evaluating mortgage applicants.
Until now, digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, have been largely overlooked in traditional mortgage underwriting. If a borrower held significant crypto assets, they were often not counted toward qualifying for a loan unless those assets were first converted into U.S. dollars—a process that could trigger capital gains taxes and weaken a borrower’s financial position. With this change, the FHFA is signaling that, if held under regulated conditions, crypto should be considered alongside more conventional assets, such as cash, stocks, and bonds, when assessing a borrower’s creditworthiness and reserve strength.
This marks the first time that a federal housing policy directive has explicitly acknowledged cryptocurrency as part of the mainstream financial profile of an American borrower. The FHFA’s decision reflects growing recognition that digital assets are now a significant component of personal wealth for millions of Americans. By ordering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin treating crypto holdings as a relevant part of mortgage risk assessments, the agency is taking a historic step toward integrating the digital economy into the traditional housing finance system.
What Does This Mean for You If You Hold Crypto
If you’re applying for a mortgage, this policy change could significantly improve your chances of qualifying, especially if you’ve been building wealth through cryptocurrency. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new directive means that your crypto holdings—including popular assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and others—may now be counted as part of your financial reserves when applying for a home loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Crypto Counts as Reserves—Without Conversion
Traditionally, banks and mortgage lenders wouldn’t recognize your crypto assets unless you liquidated them—that is, sold them for U.S. dollars and transferred the funds to a bank account. This approach posed a huge barrier for many crypto holders, forcing them to choose between preserving their digital investment portfolios or qualifying for a mortgage.
Now, under the new guidance, as long as your cryptocurrency is held on a U.S.-regulated centralized exchange (such as Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini), it can be counted without requiring conversion to fiat currency. This provides lenders with a more comprehensive view of your financial stability, enabling you to maintain your investments while still meeting mortgage reserve requirements.
Avoid Triggering Capital Gains Taxes
Perhaps the most significant benefit is avoiding unnecessary tax consequences. When crypto investors sell their digital assets—especially after holding them during considerable market growth—they often face capital gains taxes on the profit. Under the old system, you had to sell to “prove” you had reserves, effectively penalizing you for using your savings. With this change, you no longer have to realize gains just to be treated as financially sound.
Crypto Investors See a Path to Homeownership
The reaction from the crypto community has been overwhelmingly positive. Ethereum (ETH) and XRP investors, in particular, have expressed relief and excitement across various forums, social media platforms, and cryptocurrency news channels. Many of them have been long-term holders—also known as “HODLers”—who’ve weathered market cycles and built sizable digital portfolios over time. Until now, these savings couldn’t be used to prove mortgage eligibility without significant trade-offs.
Now, for the first time, crypto holders can keep their assets invested while demonstrating to mortgage lenders that they have financial depth and responsibility. An XRP community member on Reddit summed it up: “I’ve been saving in crypto for years. Finally, I can buy a house without being forced to cash out and get hit with a tax bill.”
Similarly, ETH enthusiasts have pointed out that this change brings digital finance closer to mainstream financial systems, making homeownership a more realistic goal for younger, tech-savvy investors who don’t hold their wealth in traditional savings accounts.
A Shift Toward Modern Finance
At its core, this policy marks a profound acknowledgment of the changing landscape of personal wealth in the 21st century. As cryptocurrency continues to cement itself as a legitimate financial asset, the U.S. housing system—long reliant on traditional measures of creditworthiness—is finally beginning to adapt. The decision by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to permit crypto holdings in mortgage evaluations reflects a growing understanding that wealth no longer lives solely in savings accounts, brokerage portfolios, or CDs. Instead, for an increasing number of Americans—particularly Millennials and Gen Z—wealth is being stored, grown, and diversified through digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and others.
This change helps bridge the long-standing divide between financial innovation and the entrenched practices of legacy banking systems. For borrowers who have embraced crypto not just as a speculative asset but as a disciplined savings vehicle, the ability to present those holdings in a mortgage application represents a new level of fairness and financial recognition. It modernizes the conversation about what it means to be financially prepared for homeownership.
The greatest shifts in the history of money are never announced—they unfold silently, coded into policy, embedded in paperwork. By the time people realize the currency has changed, they’re already spending it. – Tore Maras
No longer are individuals penalized for choosing to save outside traditional institutions. The new policy introduces a greater degree of flexibility in how one can demonstrate readiness for a mortgage. Borrowers can now present a more complete and accurate representation of their financial health—one that includes the digital assets they’ve carefully accumulated over time. Perhaps most importantly, it removes the painful choice so many crypto investors previously faced: selling off long-held positions, often at inopportune times, to meet qualification rules and triggering capital gains tax in the process.
Now, those who have committed to a future-forward approach to personal finance can finally leverage their cryptocurrency wealth in a way that aligns with long-term goals, such as homeownership. It’s a tangible shift that validates years of disciplined digital asset management. In simple terms, this policy sends a powerful message: if you’ve been building your savings in cryptocurrency, your efforts now count. Your digital investments are no longer invisible to the financial systems that shape real-world opportunity. For many, this is not just a bureaucratic change—it’s a long-overdue recognition that they are, and always have been, participating meaningfully in the economy of the future.
There Are Rules
While the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new directive opens the door for cryptocurrency to be recognized in mortgage underwriting, it does not mean that all crypto holdings will automatically qualify. Strict parameters are in place to ensure that the assets being considered are traceable, compliant, and reasonably stable, particularly given the inherently volatile nature of digital currencies. These safeguards are designed to maintain the integrity of the mortgage system while responsibly integrating emerging financial technologies.
First and foremost, your crypto assets must be held on U.S.-regulated centralized exchanges. This includes well-known platforms such as Crypto.com, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and other exchanges that are registered with and regulated by U.S. financial authorities. These exchanges are subject to anti-money laundering (AML) laws and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. They must meet cybersecurity and reporting standards established by federal agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In other words, to qualify, your cryptocurrency must be held in a location where it can be verified, documented, and subject to oversight. Crypto stored in private wallets, hardware wallets, or on foreign exchanges—even if substantial—won’t count under this policy. The government is prioritizing transparency and legal accountability.
Secondly, even when crypto is held in a qualified exchange, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not accept its market value at face value. Because the crypto market is known for its sharp price swings, the agencies will apply a risk-adjusted discount to the value of any holdings. While exact formulas are still under development, early guidance suggests that only 70% to 80% of the asset’s market value will be credited toward your mortgage reserve requirements. So, for example, if you hold $100,000 worth of Ethereum on Coinbase, a lender might only consider $70,000 to $80,000 of that as usable when evaluating your application. This conservative approach reflects the agencies’ need to hedge against the volatility of digital assets while still recognizing their real-world value.
Lastly, and critically, it’s essential to understand the limited role these crypto assets will play in the loan approval process. The FHFA’s policy allows cryptocurrency to count only as reserve capital, meaning, as money you have saved and set aside, which reassures lenders you can continue making mortgage payments in the event of financial stress. However, crypto cannot be used to qualify as income. You won’t be able to say, for example, “I earned $20,000 in staking rewards” and use that figure to boost your debt-to-income ratio. Unlike a paycheck, rental income, or even dividends from stocks, crypto earnings are too unpredictable and inconsistent in the eyes of underwriters to be treated as reliable, recurring income.
In short, while the policy marks a significant and encouraging step forward for crypto holders seeking homeownership, it comes with essential boundaries. Only verifiable assets on regulated U.S. exchanges will be accepted, values will be discounted to reflect market risks, and the utility of crypto is currently limited to reserves, not income. Still, even with these constraints, the change represents a breakthrough: crypto is no longer outside the system. It’s just entering with rules.
Why This Matters
This development represents a significant turning point in the history of cryptocurrency integration into mainstream finance. For the first time, crypto is being treated like traditional financial assets—such as cash, bonds, or publicly traded stocks—within one of the most regulated, conservative sectors of the U.S. economy: mortgage lending. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s directive marks not only a policy shift, but a cultural and institutional acknowledgement that digital assets have earned a seat at the table in personal finance.
Historically, cryptocurrency has existed on the fringes of institutional recognition. Despite growing adoption, most traditional financial institutions have treated it as speculative, unstable, and too risky to incorporate into underwriting models. If you held tens of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, or similar assets, it was practically invisible when applying for a mortgage. The only way to “count” those holdings was to sell them and move the proceeds into a fiat bank account. This act not only defied the long-term investment strategy of many holders but also often triggered capital gains taxes, weakening their financial position.
Now, that’s changing. The fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the two dominant players in the secondary mortgage market—are being instructed to treat crypto holdings as reserves signals that the federal government is beginning to adapt its systems to the way Americans save and invest in the digital age. This isn’t just about buying a house. It’s about modernizing finance to align with how people build wealth in the 21st century.
The implications of this policy extend far beyond the housing market. As federal standards evolve to include cryptocurrency in mortgage assessments, other sectors of the financial industry will likely adopt similar practices. Forward-looking banks and fintech companies are already exploring ways to incorporate crypto assets into their broader lending models.
For example, auto loans may soon allow applicants to use their cryptocurrency holdings as evidence of financial stability, which could help them qualify for better interest rates or improve their chances of approval. In the realm of collateral-based lending, crypto-backed loans—already common in decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms—may become more mainstream as regulated institutions begin offering similar services. This would enable borrowers to use their digital assets to secure cash loans without having to sell off their investments. Even personal and small business lenders may start to consider applicants’ digital wallets as part of their financial profile, offering a more complete picture of an individual’s or an entrepreneur’s asset base. Altogether, these shifts suggest a growing recognition that cryptocurrency is not just a speculative tool, but a legitimate form of wealth with real-world utility.
What we’re witnessing isn’t just policy reform—it’s the first visible crack in the old economic order. Crypto isn’t some fringe digital novelty anymore. It’s becoming embedded in the real-world economy, breaking free from its former status as an abstract, speculative parallel system. And in that shift, we see the shape of a global economic reset taking form. This is the transition period—quiet, technical, bureaucratic—but make no mistake: it’s revolutionary.
For millions, especially younger generations who’ve been priced out of traditional wealth-building pathways, this isn’t just validation—it’s liberation. They didn’t play the old game of saving fiat in high-yield accounts or building generational portfolios in blue-chip stocks. Instead, they invested in code, in vision, in networks. And now, for the first time, that digital conviction is being recognized not as a liability but as legitimate economic participation.
This moment is significant because it officially recognizes a new class of financial actors. People without legacy banking relationships, without a Wall Street pedigree, without ten years of W-2s to show—but who nonetheless have skin in the game. Who’ve been building, accumulating, believing. And now their wealth—digital, decentralized, borderless-has begun unlocking physical doors: to mobility, to liquidity, to shelter, to sovereignty.
This is how the reset begins. Not with fanfare, but with forms. Not with collapse, but with quiet recognition.
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