Trump Admin Moves to Let Borrowers Use Crypto in Mortgage Applications

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals for including cryptocurrency holdings in mortgage risk assessments, a move aimed at expanding access to homeownership and aligning with President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.

“After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage,” Pulte wrote in a June 25 post on social media, sharing his signed directive.

Under Pulte’s order, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) must explore ways to treat cryptocurrency as a reserve asset in single-family mortgage applications—without requiring borrowers to convert their holdings into U.S. dollars before closing. The goal, according to the directive, is to give lenders a fuller picture of borrower financial strength and improve the long-term sustainability of homeownership.

Only certain digital assets would qualify under the new policy.

The directive limits eligibility to cryptocurrencies that are verifiable and held on U.S.-regulated centralized exchanges. It also requires both Fannie and Freddie to incorporate risk mitigation strategies tailored to their respective frameworks—such as adjustments for market volatility or limits on the share of reserves that can be held in crypto. Each entity must obtain board approval and submit final implementation plans to the FHFA.

Pulte’s directive represents a notable shift in how mortgage risk is evaluated and underscores the broader effort by the Trump administration to integrate digital assets into the U.S. financial system.

Since returning to office, Trump has made good on campaign promises to promote digital assets, signing an executive order to strengthen U.S. leadership in fintech, reversing Biden-era restrictions on crypto in banking and retirement accounts, and advocating for legislation to regulate stablecoins under the proposed GENIUS Act.

Stablecoins—digital assets pegged to traditional instruments such as the U.S. dollar—have gained popularity for their use in payments and as a hedge during market volatility.

In a further push to solidify America’s role in the digital asset space, Trump also signed an executive order establishing a national bitcoin reserve. The U.S. government currently holds roughly 200,000 bitcoin—valued at around $17 billion—acquired through criminal forfeitures, which will serve as the foundation of the new reserve.

“The Treasury and Commerce Department will also explore new pathways to accumulate additional bitcoin holdings for the reserve, provided it’s done at no cost to the taxpayers,” Trump said during a White House crypto summit in March.

Trump’s pro-crypto stance marks a sharp departure from the approach taken by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, whose administration treated decentralized digital assets more as a regulatory risk and pushed for tighter oversight of crypto trading, taxation, and institutional exposure.