Better Home & Finance, Coinbase to offer mortgage backed by cryptocurrencies

Prospective homebuyers who have invested in certain cryptocurrencies will be able to use their holdings as collateral to fund their down payment on a home as part of a new mortgage offering. Real estate services company Better Home & Finance Holding Co. plans to roll out the crypto-backed mortgage sometime in the next three months in a partnership with crypto trading platform Coinbase, the companies said in a press release Thursday. Use of proceeds from the sale of cryptocurrency for funding the down payment on a home has remained limited. However, the crypto-backed mortgage from Better would not require borrowers to sell their crypto investments and would be backed by mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the companies said.