Better and Coinbase Launch the First Token-Backed, Conforming Mortgage

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 26, 2026--

Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ: BETR), and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), today announced a milestone partnership to bring token-backed mortgages to millions of Americans. Token-backed mortgages are originated and serviced by Better, the leading AI-native mortgage originator, and benefit from the same backing of Fannie Mae as other conforming mortgages. Bitcoin (BTC) and USDC pledges are powered by Coinbase, the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchange in the US. Americans who qualify for a mortgage with Better will now be able to pledge Bitcoin or USDC as collateral to fund their cash down payment, securing a standard conforming mortgage without liquidating tokenized assets or potentially triggering a taxable event 1.

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The launch of the Better + Coinbase token-backed mortgage product marks the first time an AI-native mortgage lender has used secured digital asset loans and the platform of a major crypto exchange to create a direct pathway from digital wealth to homeownership. Interested borrowers can register for early access today at better.com/crypto-backed-mortgages.

“Better was founded to make homeownership more accessible for all Americans, and this partnership with Coinbase introduces a new pathway to realizing the American Dream for the 52 million Americans who own digital assets,” said Vishal Garg, the CEO and Founder of Better. “Together, we are taking a major step towards truly democratizing homeownership for hardworking Americans.”

For decades, the path to homeownership has required Americans to sell assets, liquidate investments, or withdraw retirement savings to cover a cash down payment; often triggering capital gains taxes or early withdrawal penalties.

Market reports suggest 52 MM American adults or 20% of American adults have owned digital assets. Token-backed mortgages empower Americans who own digital assets but lack sufficient downpayment funds, or prefer to keep downpayment funds liquid, to secure a home loan by pledging their tokenized assets as collateral. The tokenized asset pledge acts as a substitute for the cash downpayment, meaning customers can utilize their digital assets, without selling them, to satisfy downpayment requirements for a mortgage.

“The ability to transform digital wealth into housing access is an exciting milestone in our mission to increase economic freedom,” said Max Branzburg, Head of Consumer and Business Products at Coinbase. “Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional downpayment.”

Homeownership has traditionally favored older generations and is increasingly out of reach for younger Americans, due largely in part to the divergence of home prices versus income. According to Coinbase’s 2025 State of Crypto Report, 45% of younger investors say they already own crypto, compared with 18% of older investors making younger generations 2.5x more likely to be token holders. As younger generations continue to build wealth through digital assets, traditional pathways to homeownership, designed around home equity and financial markets, are no longer aligned with how modern wealth is created. The token-backed mortgage helps bridge the gap between digital wealth and real estate, providing younger Americans with greater access to housing.

NCA 2025 State of Crypto Holders report highlights that tokenized-asset ownership is more demographically diverse than commonly assumed:

The token-backed mortgage will include key borrower benefits including:

Token-backed mortgages originated by Better are designed in accordance with Fannie Mae guidelines and remain as standard conforming mortgage loans, identical to other conforming mortgages. This will enable significantly lower interest rates than those traditionally associated with token-backed loans. The digital asset pledge is associated with a separate privately financed loan that will be used to fund the down payment.

All Coinbase One members who procure a token-backed or regular mortgage product through Better will be eligible for a rebate worth 1% of the mortgage value, capped at $10,000, to cover closing costs and fees. For example, a Coinbase One member securing a $800,000 mortgage through Better would be eligible to receive a $8,000 rebate. 3

The groundbreaking initiative with Coinbase is the latest in a series of product launches and partnerships that make the mortgage experience faster, fairer, more transparent, and cheaper for Americans through Better’s AI-native Tinman® platform, and voice-based AI loan assistant Betsy™.

About Coinbase

Crypto creates economic freedom by ensuring that people can participate fairly in the economy, and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is on a mission to increase economic freedom for more than 1 billion people. We’re updating the century-old financial system by providing a trusted platform that makes it easy for people and institutions to engage with crypto assets, including trading, staking, safekeeping, spending, and fast, free global transfers. We also provide critical infrastructure for onchain activity and support builders who share our vision that onchain is the new online. And together with the crypto community, we advocate for responsible rules to make the benefits of crypto available around the world.

About Better Home & Finance Holding Company

Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ: BETR) is the first AI-native mortgage and home equity finance platform, and first fintech to fund more than $110 billion in loan volume. Since 2016, Better has leveraged its industry-leading AI platform, Tinman®, to achieve a singular mission of making homeownership cheaper, faster, and easier for all Americans. Tinman® allows customers to see their rate options in seconds, get pre-approved in minutes, lock in rates, and close their loan in as little as three weeks. In addition, Betsy™, leveraging Tinman MCP, the first AI loan agent built exclusively for the mortgage industry, is revolutionizing the homebuying journey by delivering timely application status updates to consumers, answering questions, and moving their loan application along 24/7/365. Better’s mortgage offerings include GSE-conforming mortgage loans, FHA and VA loans, and jumbo and Non-QM mortgage and home equity loans. Better serves customers in all 50 US states and the United Kingdom.

For more information, follow @betterdotcom on Instagram and TikTok and @tinmanAI on X.

Footnotes:

Better and Coinbase Launch the First Token-Backed, Conforming Mortgage

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

“The building is beautiful,” the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the arch's height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). Critics of the project argue that the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Commissioners were told at Thursday's meeting that Trump considered the suggestion to remove the statue “but elected not to pursue such an option.”

McCrery recommended doing away with the lions on the base and objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle. Both design elements have been removed.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The Republican president and his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum's department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

The president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

Trump's rehab of the Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for later Thursday in federal court in Washington.

Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)