What the loans actually do
The core idea is simple: a borrower with Bitcoin doesn't need to sell it to buy a house. The coins are pledged as collateral, Better Mortgage handles the underwriting and the loan itself, and Coinbase takes care of the crypto side. The borrower keeps their position, avoids a sale and the capital gains that come with it, and the mortgage is backed by the value of the collateral.
It's a different shape from a traditional mortgage, where the down payment is cash. Here, the home and the Bitcoin both sit behind the loan — one as the asset being bought, the other as the collateral that makes the loan possible.
Why the nationwide rollout matters
A pilot in a few markets is one thing. A national product is another. This move is effectively a bet that crypto-backed borrowing has real demand, not just curiosity from a small group of early adopters. It also gives the product a much bigger test pool: a mortgage that works in a handful of states is different from one that has to handle borrowers and conditions everywhere else.
For Coinbase, the shift pushes its custody business into something more concrete — a service that plugs into an everyday asset like a home. For Better Mortgage, it's a chance to own the crypto-backed niche before bigger lenders decide they want it.
Who it's for
The natural audience is someone with meaningful Bitcoin holdings who
