Coinbase and Better Home & Finance Holding Co. have made their bitcoin-backed mortgage product generally available, after pulling in $260 million in waitlist demand. The product, called Token-Backed Mortgage, lets qualified homebuyers borrow against their bitcoin to cover a cash down payment, rather than selling the crypto.
How the bitcoin-backed mortgage works
The main mortgage is a standard Fannie Mae loan. The bitcoin-backed portion handles the down payment. Borrowers don't liquidate their holdings; they use bitcoin as collateral. That's the core appeal: you keep your crypto exposure while still buying a house.
It's a straightforward structure, but the execution matters. Better handles the mortgage origination and servicing. Coinbase provides the crypto custody and valuation. The two companies have been working on this for a while, and now it's live for anyone who qualifies.
The $260 million waitlist
The waitlist demand is the headline number. $260 million in potential loans is not a rounding error. It suggests real appetite for using crypto in real estate, not just a niche experiment.
That demand is now being put to the test. The product is open to all qualified homebuyers, so the question is how many of those waitlisted actually close. The companies will be watching conversion rates closely.
Coinbase One perks
Coinbase One members get a sweetener: up to $10,000 in closing-cost credits. That's a meaningful discount on a typical home purchase. It's also a way to push people toward Coinbase's subscription tier, which already includes trading fee rebates and other benefits.
Better Home & Finance, which trades on Nasdaq under BETR, is the mortgage operator. Coinbase brings the crypto side. The partnership makes sense: Better gets a new product to differentiate itself, Coinbase gets another reason for users to hold bitcoin.
The product is now generally available, so the next step is for borrowers to apply. The $260 million waitlist gives a sense of the ceiling, but the real test is how many loans actually fund. If adoption is strong, expect similar products from other lenders. If it stalls, this could stay a niche offering.
For now, the door is open. Qualified homebuyers with bitcoin can use it to get into a house without selling. That's the pitch, and the market will decide.
