The U.S. housing finance landscape may be on the brink of a huge shift as Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, appointed in March 2025 under President Donald Trump, announced plans to study cryptocurrency holdings, including Bitcoin BTC/USD, for mortgage qualifications.
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What Happened: This move has sparked widespread interest and debate, with Strategy Inc.‘s MSTR Michael Saylor stepping forward to offer Strategy's (formerly MicroStrategy) Bitcoin Credit Model to support the initiative.
Pulte, a known Bitcoin advocate and grandson of Pulte Homes' founder, oversees the FHFA, which regulates $7.5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities through Fannie Mae FNMA and Freddie Mac FMCC.
His post has ignited hope among crypto enthusiasts. “We will study the usage of cryptocurrency holdings as it relates to qualifying for mortgages,” with Saylor responding by sharing a model assessing BTC risk based on price volatility, loan duration, and collateral coverage.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Policy Institute hails this as a potential game-changer, noting that 14% of Americans own Bitcoin, while close to 28% of Americans are said to own some kind of cryptocurrency.
A tweak to Fannie Mae's Selling Guide to recognize Bitcoin as collateral could unlock homeownership for millions, aligning with Trump's vision to make the U.S. the "Bitcoin Capital of the planet."
Why It Matters: As highlighted by the Bitcoin Policy Institute, due to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s significant financial influence in the mortgage market and indirect control by government entities, both set the industry standards that all other home lenders follow.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s securitization guidelines for lenders often become the unofficial rules for the entire mortgage industry.
“If Fannie Mae amended key language in their Selling Guide (SEL-2022-04) on virtual currencies, it would unlock the ability for Americans to use bitcoin as collateral for home loans,” stated the Bitcoin Policy Institute note.
Price Action: The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose on Tuesday. The SPY was up 1.10% at $606.78, while the QQQ advanced 1.53% to $539.78, according to Benzinga Pro data.
The futures of the S&P 500, Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 indices were flat on Wednesday.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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