US Federal Housing Finance Agency Proposes Including Cryptocurrency as Mortgage-Backed Assets

According to ChainCatcher, citing a report from Decrypt, the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin preparing to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment related to mortgages. FHFA Director William Pulte stated that this move aligns with the broader vision of the Trump administration to make the United States a global hub for cryptocurrency.

The FHFA found that allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider a wider range of borrower assets, such as cryptocurrency, could help them better assess loan risk and expand homeownership opportunities for qualified borrowers. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now need to determine how cryptocurrency will be classified as a qualifying asset.

Pulte did not specify which cryptocurrencies would be accepted. The market response has been mixed, with some praising the move as a win for the industry, while others criticized the requirement that crypto assets must be held on centralized exchanges.