The US housing market is enduring potential reforms by the crypto industry.
On Wednesday, the federal housing finance agency ordered Fannie May and Freddie Mac to begin preparing to accept crypto as a form of mortgage-related payments.
The directive announced in X by FHFA Director William Pulte shows the first major move to incorporate digital assets into the federal mortgage system.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are US government-sponsored companies that buy mortgages from lenders, package them into securities, and guarantee payments to investors.
The announcement comes two days after Pulte told businesses to study how cryptography is considered in mortgage eligibility.
“After important studies and in line with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I have ordered the great Fanny May and Freddie Mac to count cryptocurrency as mortgage assets.”
According to the directive, FHFA discovered that by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider more types of borrower assets, such as crypto, it could better assess and expand access to qualified borrowers’ homeowners.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are currently tasked with determining how crypto can be treated as a qualified asset.
Pulte did not specify which ciphers would be accepted. The responses on X were mixed in, with some admiring the move as an industry victory.
“Bitcoin is recognized as a reserve asset by the US housing system,” wrote strategy co-founder Michael Saylor about X.
Others criticized the provisions requiring crypto assets to be held on centralized exchanges rather than independent wallets.
“Each company is instructed to consider only cryptocurrency assets that can be proven and stored in a US regulated central exchange that is subject to all applicable laws,” FHFA wrote.
At the same time, Housecoin, a home-themed meme coin for the Solana blockchain, has increased 20% to $0.24 in response to the news.
“One house = one house coin has never sounded this good,” the Housecoin account said on X.
FHFA did not respond immediately Decrypt’s Request a comment.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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