Housing regulator Bill Pulte has instructed the two government-sponsored enterprises he oversees, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to move toward recognizing crypto holdings without requiring conversion when assessing borrowers’ ability to repay, a move that could help bring digital currency further into the mainstream.

He formally authorized this Wednesday and directed the GSEs to plan for a change following a social media post hinting at it earlier, adding to a broader backing of crypto the Trump administration has been engaged in since day one. 

Pulte, who has disclosed personal investments in Bitcoin and Solana, directed each of the GSEs “to prepare a proposal for consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their respective single-family risk assessments without conversion of said cryptocurrency.”

What Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac crypto use could mean

A growing number of mortgage fintechs active in this space say if the two influential government-related loan buyers Pulte oversees would allow crypto use, it would be transformative for digital currency use in housing.

“If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac begin to recognize crypto holdings within their underwriting framework, it would be a turning point, ” said Milo Credit CEO Josip Rupena. “These institutions set the tone for how creditworthiness is defined across the mortgage ecosystem.”

Currently, Freddie and Fannie require conversion of crypto investments to U.S. dollars before they can be counted for mortgage qualification purposes. Further study could lead to more comfort with treating them like other other types of securities.

“As an increasingly large number of consumers own cryptocurrencies, it’s natural that the agencies would explore using those to qualify for reserves in loans underwriting, similar to how stocks and bonds can count,” said Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure, a fintech lender.

“As blockchain and crypto become more mainstream and used more readily in lending, we are excited about further adoption,” he added in an email.

“Including crypto would open the door for more inclusive lending criteria that reflect how modern investors hold and manage their wealth,” Rupena said.

Private companies’ embrace of crypto

Even without the GSEs’ broader acceptance, private companies have increasingly been using both, evidenced by Beeline Title’s announcement Wednesday that it had completed a transaction funded through the sale of a crypto token backed by real property.

How fast the technologies’ use in the mortgage industry will continue to spread will depend on the willingness and ability of companies to devote resources to certain prerequisites.

“For these models to function at scale, you need a title company that not only understands blockchain transactions — but has the infrastructure to disburse and reconcile them in compliance with federal and state regulations,” said Nick Liuzza, CEO of Beeline Holdings, in a press release.

Fintech involvement in crypto has sometimes wavered due to regulatory concerns, but recently confidence has increased due to Trump’s backing. SoFi announced a return to crypto Wednesday citing the regulatory shift. The company had exited in late 2023 due to regulatory frustrations.

Any mortgage entity considering involvement with crypto will be exposed to some market risks as evident in the delisting of more than 1,000 smaller digital currencies since January. That marks the largest drop of this type since a crash in 2022, according to Crypto Presales.

Differences in the risks based on the types of currencies could be something Fannie and Freddie examine in their study.

When asked about such market risks, Rupena said, “Volatility is real, but it is not unique to crypto. Public equities move. Currencies fluctuate. Real estate cycles rise and fall. What matters is how you manage that risk.

“At Milo, we evaluate the full financial picture, including loan-to-value, reserves, property quality, and borrower profile. Used thoughtfully, crypto can be a powerful tool for expanding access to home financing without forcing people to liquidate,” he added.