Make your down payment with crypto

Yes. You can use Bitcoin or other crypto held in a self-custody wallet for the down payment on a traditional mortgage. RealOpen verifies ownership of the crypto, documents the assets and relevant holding period for the lender, converts the required amount when funding is due, and provides a transaction record tracing the funds from the verified wallet through conversion to the U.S. dollar wire sent to escrow. The lender makes the final underwriting determination.

See the complete process — from verifying crypto held in your own wallet to documenting the U.S. dollar wire that reaches escrow.

1. 0:00Can You Use Crypto for a Mortgage Down Payment?
2. 0:38Why Is Crypto Different From Money in the Bank?
3. 1:20How Do You Prove You Own a Self-Custody Wallet?
4. 2:00How Do You Document Crypto for a Mortgage?
5. 3:05When Do You Have to Sell Your Crypto?
6. 3:35How Do You Document the Crypto-to-Dollar Transaction?
7. 4:20What Should You Ask Your Loan Officer?

Watch “How to Use Bitcoin for a Mortgage Down Payment From Self-Custody” on YouTube

Yes, when your lender accepts it. RealOpen turns crypto into a documented down payment on a traditional mortgage — QM or non-QM — and the mortgage itself does not change. Keep your crypto until the funding date your lender and escrow approve; some files require conversion, receipt of dollars and document review before closing day. RealOpen converts it, wires escrow, and your lender receives a Transaction Record tying those dollars to a wallet you provably own.

There are three routes to a crypto down payment. Liquidate and season: sell on an exchange, park the cash in a bank, and wait 60 days so the lender doesn’t have to source it. Pledge it: a crypto-backed loan (Better with Coinbase, Milo) holds your coins as collateral. Convert on the approved funding date, documented: the route RealOpen runs — nothing pledged, no exchange custody, and no seasoning detour where the program accepts a documented conversion.

Fannie Mae’s rule (Selling Guide B3-4.1-04) is that virtual currency must be exchanged into U.S. dollars before it counts toward funds or reserves, that the dollars be held in a U.S. or state regulated financial institution and verified before closing, and that virtual currency can’t be used for the earnest money deposit. On a conforming loan, ask your lender whether a documented RealOpen wire to escrow satisfies that or whether the proceeds must first land in your own bank account; non-QM programs write their own rules. Either way, the conversion trail RealOpen produces is what lenders have used to document the dollars. Details in the Fannie Mae crypto down payment guidelines and why you can skip the seasoning trap; the wider picture, including reserves and asset-depletion programs, is on the crypto mortgage map.

Underwriters treat these differently, and so do we. Most buyers end up using both:

• Document it. Crypto as a reserve asset on your mortgage application. RealScore™ documents holdings you don’t sell in a format underwriting can verify; whether and how they count is set by the loan program — agency rules require conversion to dollars, while some non-agency programs accept eligible unconverted crypto under their own custody rules.
• Fund with it. Crypto as the source of your down payment — some or all of it. We convert exactly what you need and wire dollars to escrow, with the sourcing paper trail attached (Transaction Record). Where the program accepts a documented conversion, no seasoning detour.

Bitcoin-only? No. Any crypto we support works — BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, stablecoins, and the rest of the accepted list. And note what this page is not: pledging your coins as loan collateral. If you’re weighing that instead, read the crypto-backed mortgage comparison first.

The most expensive sentence in crypto homebuying is "sell it now and let it season for 60–90 days." It forces your taxable event months early, parks you in cash through whatever the market does next, and delays your offer — all to satisfy a requirement (sourcing) that a documented conversion satisfies on many programs. Some programs still require the dollars received and reviewed before closing, so ask which rule applies before you sell. If a loan officer has said those words to you, start here: crypto down payment seasoning, explained — or go straight to what to say back to your lender.

• How to document crypto as a source of funds
• Fannie Mae crypto down payment guidelines (2026)
• When do you actually have to sell your crypto?