In a move that would have seemed fantastical just a few years ago—when cryptocurrency was still largely dismissed as digital Monopoly money by traditional finance—the Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals treating cryptocurrency as legitimate assets in mortgage underwriting calculations.
FHFA Director William Pulte’s Decision No. 2025-360, issued June 25, 2025, requires the government-sponsored enterprises to count crypto holdings without converting them to dollars first—a technicality that signals profound philosophical acceptance of digital assets’ inherent value.
This directive fundamentally rewrites mortgage qualification rules that have traditionally recognized only cash, bonds, and stocks as qualifying reserves. Under current frameworks, a borrower’s Bitcoin wallet might as well contain baseball cards for all the underwriting credit it receives.
Traditional mortgage underwriting has treated cryptocurrency holdings with all the financial credibility of collectible trading cards.
The new approach would allow crypto-rich millennials (who’ve been priced out of housing markets while watching their digital portfolios fluctuate wildly) to finally leverage their Ethereum holdings toward homeownership without triggering taxable liquidation events.
The policy shift aligns with the Trump administration‘s broader cryptocurrency embrace, including complementary legislation like the GENIUS Act supporting stablecoin frameworks. One might observe the irony of government-sponsored entities—traditionally bastions of conservative lending practices—suddenly embracing assets known for losing half their value over lunch breaks.
Implementation presents fascinating challenges. How does one apply traditional risk-adjustment methodologies (typically 70-80% of market value for conventional assets) to cryptocurrencies that can swing 20% daily? The directive specifically restricts consideration to assets held on U.S.-regulated centralized exchanges, ensuring some degree of oversight and legitimacy in the qualification process. The shift represents part of broader institutional adoption as traditional financial entities increasingly establish positions in digital assets across the market.
Fannie and Freddie must now develop entirely new valuation standards, compliance frameworks, and accounting policies for assets that didn’t exist when their foundational underwriting models were created. The decision has already demonstrated market confidence, with both Fannie and Freddie shares increasing amid broader discussions of re-privatization.
The implications extend beyond individual borrowers. Finance professionals across the mortgage industry must rapidly develop expertise in digital asset management, while lenders face substantial system overhauls to accommodate crypto verification and documentation requirements.
This represents the first formal integration of cryptocurrency into America’s mortgage lending infrastructure—a remarkable validation for an asset class that emerged from libertarian white papers questioning government-backed currency’s very legitimacy.
The revolution, it seems, will be securitized.
