3 steps every agent needs to take before working with crypto

Contributor “Tracey, the Safety Lady,” Hawkins warns that agents and consumers need to look both ways before using crypto for real estate transactions.

Cryptocurrency-backed mortgages have officially arrived in the American housing market, and so have the criminals looking to exploit them. 

The lending product itself is legitimate, but every financial innovation creates openings for criminals looking to exploit confusion and urgency.

Your clients are already hearing about this, and they’ll look to you to separate fact from hype. In this article, we will break down what consumers and agents need to know, what even savvy crypto users might be missing and three takeaway steps that agents need to do before they start working with crypto.

Fast forward

On March 26, 2026, Better Home & Finance and Coinbase announced what Coinbase described as the first crypto-backed conforming mortgage solution. On June 4, 2026, the companies closed their first mortgage transaction, helping buyers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, purchase a home by pledging cryptocurrency instead of selling it. 

As of Aug. 26, 2026, Coinbase and Better Mortgage announced that its token-backed conforming mortgage product was available to the general public. Before public availability, the waitlist had a projected loan value of $260 million.