How To Use Crypto To Buy Real Estate

Four Ways To Use Crypto To Buy A Home Compared

Save This Article

Email this article to yourself

We'll send you a link to "How To Use Crypto To Buy Real Estate" so you can read it later, plus The Weekly Ritual, our free newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.

Email address

Email It To Me

Email me this article and sign me up for The Weekly Ritual. See our privacy policy.

Pros And Cons Of Buying Real Estate With Crypto

When you pay with crypto, the transaction settles on a blockchain, validated by its miners or validators. Crypto prices move a lot, so the amount you need can change while you negotiate, and finding a seller who will take crypto is hard.

Pros

• Faster settlement: sending crypto can settle in minutes rather than waiting on bank wires.
• No need to sell: borrowing against crypto lets you keep your coins and defer any capital gains tax.
• A possible discount: a seller who wants a specific coin may accept a lower price in that coin.

Cons

• Taxes: selling or spending appreciated crypto triggers capital gains tax.
• Fewer participants: most title companies, escrow agents and lenders still require dollars.
• Volatility: the number of coins you need can change during the hour or so it takes to sign closing documents.
• Fewer protections: if a deal falls through after you sent earnest money in crypto and the seller won't return it, recovering it can be hard.

1. Sell Your Crypto And Use Cash

The simplest route is to sell your crypto for dollars and buy with cash, or use the cash as a down payment on a mortgage. You can sell on an exchange such as Coinbase (US, UK, EU, Canada) or Kraken (most US states, UK, EU, Canada, Australia) and withdraw to your bank.

The IRS treats crypto as property, so selling is a taxable event. Say you sell 5 BTC for $200,000 that cost you $100,000, and pay $2,000 in fees. You owe tax on $98,000 of gain. Held more than a year, that's taxed at the long-term rate, generally 15% or 20%. Held a year or less, it's taxed as ordinary income. Our crypto tax rates article has the 2026 brackets.

If you're getting a mortgage, lenders want to see where your down payment came from. Expect to show exchange statements and the transfer to your bank, and sell well before closing, since lenders usually want recent bank statements that show the money sitting in your account. Ask your lender how many months of records it needs. To compare mortgage rates, you can check rates through Credible (US).

2. Send The Crypto Directly To The Seller

You can pay a seller in crypto if they agree to it. Bitcoin and stablecoins such as USDC are the most likely to be accepted. A real estate agent who has handled crypto deals can help you find willing sellers and a title or escrow company that accepts crypto.

Both of you need wallets, and you need the seller's correct address. Send a small test amount first. Some deals use Ethereum smart contracts or tokenized property, which our tokenized real estate article covers, but you'll pay network fees and still need a title company to record the deed in most places.

Spending crypto is a taxable sale for you, measured at the coin's dollar value when you pay. Since Jan. 1, 2026, the title company or other real estate reporting person must report the fair market value of crypto you paid on the seller's Form 1099-S, under the IRS's final digital asset broker rules.

3. Borrow Against Your Crypto

If you want to keep your crypto, you can use it as collateral for a loan and use the loan proceeds toward the purchase. Taking out a loan isn't a taxable sale. Our article on borrowing against your crypto covers lenders and terms.

Options include Coinbase's bitcoin-backed USDC loans, which run on the Morpho lending protocol and launched in January 2025 for US users outside New York with a $100,000 limit, according to The Block. Check Coinbase's app for the current limit. Specialist lenders such as Ledn also lend against bitcoin. Celsius, which this article once listed, went bankrupt in 2022.

Crypto loans are overcollateralized and short-term compared with a mortgage. If your collateral falls in value, you may have to add more or have some sold. Selling collateral to cover a loan is a taxable sale.

The lower the loan-to-value ratio, the more room you have before a liquidation. Thresholds differ by lender, so check yours.

4. Use A Crypto-Backed Down Payment With A Mortgage

Crypto-backed financing reached Fannie Mae loans in 2026. On June 25, 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for counting crypto as an asset in mortgage risk assessments without requiring it to be converted to dollars, according to a Duane Morris summary of the order. Ask your lender whether it can count crypto you haven't sold, since many still require it to be sold and held as dollars first.

On March 26, 2026, Better Home & Finance and Coinbase announced a product that pairs a conventional Fannie Mae mortgage with a second loan secured by bitcoin or USDC that covers the down payment, as AP reported. The first loan funded in June 2026, and the companies said then that they planned to offer it to qualified borrowers nationwide by summer 2026. Check Better's site for availability in your state. Terms, according to Better and The Block:

• Collateral of about $2.50 in bitcoin (a 250% ratio), or $1.25 in USDC, for each $1 of down payment
• 15-year and 30-year fixed terms, within Fannie Mae's conforming loan limits
• No added collateral if bitcoin falls. Better says price moves never trigger liquidation, but it may sell the pledged crypto if you're 60 days behind on payments
• Better doesn't publish the rate on its product page, so compare the quote with a standard mortgage

For a $100,000 down payment, that means pledging about $250,000 in bitcoin. You keep your coins and avoid a taxable sale, but they're locked up as collateral and you pay interest on two loans.

Should You Use Crypto To Buy Real Estate?

With extra legwork, you can use crypto to buy real estate. Whether you should depends on how much you hold, your tax position and how much risk you're willing to keep.

• If your crypto has large gains, borrowing against it or using a crypto-backed down payment avoids an immediate tax bill, but leaves you exposed to price drops while you carry the debt.
• If you'd rather own a less volatile asset, selling crypto to buy a home trades price risk for a tax bill.
• If your crypto is a small part of your savings, a conventional mortgage with a cash down payment is simplest.

Real estate is a tangible asset that has historically been less volatile than crypto.

Buying Property With Crypto Outside The US

Outside the US, the main steps are the same: most sellers and conveyancers want local currency, and banks and lenders run anti-money-laundering checks on where your deposit came from. Expect to show exchange records for the full history of the funds. Selling crypto for a deposit triggers capital gains tax in the UK, Canada and Australia too, as our crypto tax rates article explains.

What To Watch Out For

• Liquidation: a crypto loan can be partly sold off in a crash, creating a loss and a tax bill at the same time.
• Source-of-funds checks: lenders and title companies will ask you to document where the money came from.
• Wrong addresses: a mistyped wallet address can't be reversed. Send a test amount first.
• Wire and wallet fraud: scammers pose as title companies and send fake payment instructions. Confirm by phone using a number you find yourself. Our crypto scams article covers this.
• Tax timing: selling crypto late in the year can push you into a higher bracket for that year.

FAQ

Can You Buy A House With Bitcoin?

Yes, but most purchases still convert bitcoin to dollars before closing. A few sellers and title companies accept bitcoin directly, and since 2026 you can use bitcoin as collateral for a down payment loan on a Fannie Mae mortgage through Better and Coinbase.

Is Buying A House With Crypto Taxable?

Selling or spending crypto to buy a house is a taxable sale, so you owe capital gains tax on any increase in value. Borrowing against your crypto isn't taxable, unless the lender sells your collateral.

Can Crypto Be Used For A Mortgage Down Payment?

Yes. You can sell crypto and use the cash, with documentation for the lender, or use a crypto-backed loan for the down payment, such as the Better and Coinbase product for Fannie Mae loans.

Do Mortgage Lenders Count Crypto As Assets?

Some are starting to. The FHFA ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in June 2025 to prepare proposals for counting crypto in risk assessments, but most lenders still require crypto to be sold and held as dollars before it counts.

Is It Better To Sell Crypto Or Borrow Against It For A House?

Selling ends your price risk but creates a tax bill. Borrowing defers the tax but keeps you exposed to a price drop, with the added risk of liquidation and the cost of interest.