Crypto mortgage vs crypto loan: how a $2M home was won

I met the client after years of covering life with short-term loans against his Bitcoin. His holdings had grown past $3 million. He found a $2,000,000 single-family home in Illinois he believed was priced to move for his family. The objective was clear. Buy the house, keep Bitcoin exposure, avoid a taxable sale, and use financing built for years, not months.

Most lenders he spoke with offered short-term credit at higher rates and capped leverage near 50 percent loan-to-value. At 50 LTV, a borrower typically needs roughly two times the purchase price in pledged crypto. With $3 million, that caps practical buying power at about a $1.5 million home if all assets are unencumbered. A $2,000,000 target would require about $4,000,000 in collateral, which he did not have available.

We moved forward with a 100 percent LTV crypto mortgage at Milo. Here, the loan finances the full price, and the client pledges crypto collateral equal to that price. One time collateral, not two. No cash down. No asset sale.

Two factors mattered most for a high-net-worth holder seeking long-duration financing.

1) Opportunity cost and tax timing He did not crystallize gains to fund a down payment. No realization under contract pressure. He maintained exposure through the cycle while advancing the home timeline. Tax management stays on his terms, via timing, refinancing, or rebalancing later.

2) Risk mechanics and retained buffer With 100 LTV, he pledged $2,000,000 in BTC and kept a meaningful amount unpledged. That leftover stack functions as a volatility buffer. A standard 50 LTV crypto loan on this purchase would have required about $4,000,000 pledged and, in practice, was out of reach. Milo’s risk bands are preset by our engine. In his case, a margin call would not trigger unless the value of the pledged BTC fell by approximately 69 percent from funding. If markets move, the playbook is simple. Top up collateral from the unpledged buffer or curtail principal to bring LTV back in range. Predictability plus retained capacity is what lets a family sleep at night.

The client was used to tapping short-term loans for life expenses, so we also framed the shift in financing posture. Short-term credit remains useful for deposits, quick closes, renovations, or builds. The difference here was anchoring into long-duration real estate financing that avoids the two-times collateral drag and matches how a household actually lives in a home.

Execution stayed tight. We verified assets, set custody and transfer steps for the pledged BTC, and locked the closing path. No need to unwind positions, trigger a sale, or juggle a second lender for a deposit. The contract stayed firm. The timeline held.

On closing, title transferred on a $2,000,000 home. Bitcoin remained intact. Liquidity for year one stayed available for real-world needs like furnishings, minor upgrades, and reserves. His balance sheet now compounds in two places. Real estate equity grows as principal amortizes. Bitcoin continues to participate across cycles.

That is the point for crypto-native clients. You do not choose between portfolio strategy and life. With the right structure, you finance both. If your goal is to align housing with a crypto-forward balance sheet, Milo bridges short-term liquidity into long-term mortgages without forcing a sale. Contact loans@milo.io.

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.