Better (BETR.US) and Coinbase (COIN.US) launch token-backed qualified mortgage products, integrating crypto assets into traditional mortgage systems for the first time
The Zhitong Finance App learned that Better Mortgage, a subsidiary of Better Home & Finance (BETR.US), and Coinbase Global (COIN.US) jointly announced on Wednesday that the token-backed qualified mortgage products launched in cooperation between the two parties are officially open to the public. Better is responsible for loan origination and service, and the technical support comes from Coinbase. The product design strictly follows Fannie Mae (FNMA.US) guidelines to ensure its qualifying mortgage attributes as a first lien.
As part of this program, Coinbase One members who have been granted a loan will receive a cashback equivalent to 1% of the loan amount, up to a maximum of 10,000 US dollars. The cashback will directly offset settlement costs in the form of lender credit (lender credit), which exempts part of the transaction fee.
The core design of the product is to package and combine an eligible home loan backed by Fannie Mae (Fannie Mae) with an independent down payment loan secured by crypto assets. The two loans enjoy the same interest rate and amortization period, and the borrower only needs to repay once a month; after the mortgage is fully settled or the refinancing is completed, the pledged crypto assets will be returned.
Borrowers are required to pledge Bitcoin or USDC stablecoins equal to at least 250% of the down payment loan amount, and the pledged assets will be deposited into an escrow account set up by Better on Coinbase Prime. Take a $500,000 property as an example. Borrowers can pledge $250,000 in Bitcoin and get a $100,000 down payment loan. Unlike traditional mortgages, a drop in the price of Bitcoin itself will not trigger additional security deposit requirements or change loan terms, but if the borrower is overdue for more than 60 days, Better has the right to liquidate the pledged crypto assets.
This new product launch is based on strong early demand from Better and Coinbase for previous cryptocurrency mortgage products. Since the two companies opened the waitlist for this product in June, data shows that 76% of respondents are already Coinbase One users, and 60% say they plan to buy a home within six months. Waiting list data also shows that before full public release, the total loan amount is estimated to have exceeded US$260 million.
Ben Shen, head of financial services and loyalty products at Coinbase, said: “By allowing borrowers to pledge digital assets during the mortgage underwriting process, we are making crypto assets more useful in the real world — both broadening the path to buying a home and helping users retain long-term investment positions.”
Better Home & Finance Holding Company claims to be the first AI-native mortgage and home equity financing platform, and the first fintech company with a cumulative loan amount exceeding US$110 billion. Since 2016, Better has relied on Tinman®, its industry-leading AI platform, to allow customers to check interest rate options within seconds, get pre-approval within minutes, and complete loan settlement within three weeks as fast as three weeks. Its AI loan agent Betsy™ provides a 7×24 hour application status update and problem solving service. Better's services cover all 50 states and the United Kingdom.
As the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, Coinbase Global has continued to expand its on-chain lending footprint in recent years. As of June 2026, Coinbase's total crypto collateral loans have exceeded 2.3 billion US dollars, supporting the staking of assets such as ETH (up to $1 million) and SOL (up to 100,000 US dollars) as collateral. This collaboration with Better combines Coinbase's technical capabilities in the field of crypto asset escrow and on-chain lending with traditional mortgage origination and servicing capabilities, opening up financing channels from crypto assets to physical real estate.