Coinbase Crypto Mortgage: What the FHFA Silence Means for Buyers

You searched for the Coinbase mortgage and ran into a wall of headlines about the FHFA, a group of senators, and a letter no one has answered. Here is the short version: in August 2026, seven US senators asked the Federal Housing Finance Agency to justify its decision to let Fannie Mae accept the Better and Coinbase crypto-backed mortgage. Weeks later, the FHFA still has not publicly responded. If you are a crypto holder trying to buy a home right now, that silence is worth understanding, because it tells you something about how much regulatory certainty actually sits behind a conforming crypto mortgage today.

This is not a reason to panic, and it is not a verdict on crypto mortgages as a category. It is a reason to know exactly what you are signing up for, and to know that a Fannie Mae-conforming product is not the only way to buy a home with your crypto.

What the Senators Actually Warned About

The concern did not come out of nowhere. After the FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare for counting cryptocurrency in mortgage underwriting, and after Better and Coinbase launched a conforming mortgage that lets buyers pledge crypto, a group of senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, and Dick Durbin, wrote to FHFA Director William Pulte asking the agency to explain the decision.

Their letter raised a few specific points about the structure of the Better and Coinbase product:

• To qualify, a buyer may have to pledge crypto worth up to 2.5 times the dollar amount they are borrowing against it. The senators argued this "inherently concedes that crypto is a risky asset."
• The product uses a two-loan structure, so buyers can end up paying interest on two separate loans at once.
• Combined financing costs could run as much as 1.5 percentage points higher than a standard Fannie Mae mortgage.
• More broadly, they warned that bringing volatile, unconverted crypto into the conforming mortgage system could pose risks to the stability of the housing market.

You do not have to agree with the senators to take the underlying point seriously: a conforming crypto mortgage depends on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHFA staying comfortable with the arrangement. When lawmakers formally challenge that comfort and the regulator goes quiet, the people carrying the most uncertainty are borrowers in the middle of it.

Why the FHFA's Silence Matters

A conforming mortgage is one that meets the standards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require in order to buy it. That is what makes the Better and Coinbase product work at scale: the loans can be sold into the government-sponsored system. It is also what makes the product sensitive to policy. If the FHFA changes course, tightens the rules, or responds to the senators by scaling the program back, the terms available to new borrowers could shift.

The FHFA's continued silence does not mean anything has been withdrawn. As of early September 2026, the product is still live and buyers are still using it. But "no answer yet" is different from "resolved." For a homebuyer comparing options this month, the honest read is that the regulatory footing under the conforming crypto mortgage is still being decided in public, and that decision is not yours to control.

The Collateral Reuse Disclosure You Should Read First

The regulatory questions are not the only fine print worth reading. In September 2026, CoinDesk reported that Better disclosed it may reuse, or rehypothecate, the Bitcoin that borrowers pledge, as long as it keeps an equivalent amount available to return. In practice, that means a borrower is promised an equivalent quantity of Bitcoin at the end of the loan rather than the specific coins pledged at closing, and the collateral stays locked until the conforming mortgage is fully repaid or refinanced. You cannot pay off the crypto-backed portion early to get your coins back sooner.

For some borrowers, that is an acceptable trade. For others, especially long-term holders who care about keeping the exact coins they bought, it is a meaningful detail that does not show up in the headline rate. Either way, it belongs on the list of things to understand before you pledge.

What This Means If You Are Buying a Home With Crypto Now

If you are mid-search, a few things are worth doing regardless of which lender you choose. Read the collateral requirements closely, because a 2.5x pledge ratio ties up far more crypto than most people expect. Understand every loan in the structure and what happens to your pledged assets if you miss payments. And separate the regulatory story from your own timeline: news cycles move faster than closings, and you want a structure that still makes sense a year from now.

It also means it is worth knowing that a crypto mortgage does not have to be a conforming, Fannie Mae-eligible product at all.

How Milo Is Structured Differently

Milo has offered a crypto mortgage since 2021, well before the conforming version existed. The key difference in the context of this news is that Milo is not a conforming lender. Milo underwrites and holds its crypto mortgages directly rather than originating them to Fannie Mae standards, so the loans are not governed by FHFA directives or the outcome of this particular letter. Whatever the FHFA decides about the conforming program, it does not set the terms of a Milo mortgage.

Custody works differently too. Milo holds pledged crypto with qualified, institutional custodians and does not rehypothecate or reuse borrowers' assets, so the specific coins you pledge stay yours through the life of the loan.

Beyond the regulatory independence, Milo qualifies borrowers differently. Instead of leaning on W-2s and tax returns, Milo can qualify you on the strength of your assets, including your crypto holdings, which is what lets a crypto-wealthy but income-light buyer get approved in the first place. When you choose to pledge Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral, Milo can finance up to 100% of the purchase price, and because you are pledging rather than selling, you keep your exposure to future upside and avoid the capital gains taxes that come with liquidating. Posting collateral is an option, not a requirement, and the right structure depends on your situation.

None of this removes the real obligations. Pledged collateral carries terms, including the possibility of a margin call if the value of your pledged crypto falls significantly, so it is worth understanding the notice and resolution process before you sign. For holders who would rather keep their coins in their own custody, Milo's self-custody mortgage uses your crypto as a qualifying asset while the crypto itself is never transferred and is not subject to margin calls. Eligibility requirements apply and all loans are subject to approval.

Better + Coinbase vs. Milo, at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Coinbase mortgage safe to use right now? The Better and Coinbase mortgage is still live and buyers are still closing with it. The open question is regulatory: several senators have formally asked the FHFA to justify allowing it, and the agency has not publicly responded. That does not make the product unsafe, but it does mean the rules behind it are still being contested. Read the collateral and repayment terms carefully before committing.

Did the FHFA respond to the senators about crypto mortgages? As of early September 2026, the FHFA has not published a response to the senators' letter. The product remains available in the meantime.

Does the FHFA news affect Milo's crypto mortgage? No. Milo's crypto mortgage is non-conforming and is not sold to Fannie Mae, so it is not governed by FHFA directives about conforming loans. The outcome of this letter does not change the terms of a Milo mortgage.

Do I have to sell my crypto to buy a home? No. The point of a crypto mortgage is to buy without selling. With Milo you can pledge Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral, keep your exposure to future price gains, and avoid the capital gains taxes that selling would trigger.

The Bottom Line

The FHFA's silence on the Better and Coinbase crypto mortgage is a reminder that a conforming product carries the government's rulebook with it, for better and for worse. That is not a reason to give up on buying a home with crypto. It is a reason to understand the structure you are choosing and how much of it depends on decisions being made in Washington.

If you want to buy a home with your crypto without waiting on a regulator's answer, see how a crypto-backed mortgage works and check whether you qualify at milo.io. You can also read our breakdown of why senators are warning about the Better/Coinbase product and how the market got here in bitcoin lending's rise past $67 billion.

The opinions expressed in the Blog are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.