The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop a proposal that would allow cryptocurrency holdings to count as part of a homebuyer’s reserves when banks issue mortgage loans.
William Pulte, who became director of the FHFA in March, issued the order on Wednesday. He said crypto assets should be considered in mortgage risk assessments without requiring conversion into U.S. dollars, as long as those assets are held on U.S.-regulated centralized exchanges and meet all applicable laws.
The change would allow banks to factor in verified crypto holdings when deciding if a mortgage qualifies for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. These two firms do not currently accept cryptocurrency as part of a borrower’s financial profile unless it is first converted to cash.
The new policy is aimed at expanding the way banks assess a borrower’s creditworthiness and at helping more people qualify for home loans. It reflects the growing use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional financial assets.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are required to prepare their proposals “as soon as reasonably practical,” according to the FHFA order.
The two mortgage companies, which have been under government control since the financial crisis, guarantee around half of the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market and play a key role in housing finance by buying qualifying loans from banks.
Public records show that Pulte’s spouse held between $500,000 and $1 million in bitcoin and a similar amount in Solana’s SOL token as of January 2025.
