"My lender says I have to sell my crypto before buying a house." Do you?

Often not the way they mean it. What your lender actually needs is sourced funds — proof the money is yours and its path is traceable. "Sell it now and let it season for 60–90 days" is the blunt-instrument version of that requirement, used when a borrower can't produce documentation. There is no single waiting period that applies to every crypto-funded mortgage; the lender and investor decide required asset history, statements, holding periods, custody and conversion timing. You have two better options: a fully documented crypto-funded down payment, with the lender's checklist approved before funds move, or — if you're buying outright — skip the lender's rules entirely.

Why they said it

Your loan officer isn't wrong to be cautious; they're pattern-matching. The crypto deposits they've seen were exchange cash-outs landing in checking accounts with zero paperwork — large unexplained deposits, which underwriting flags. The fix they know is time: two bank statement cycles and nobody has to explain anything. It closes loans. It also wrecks your timeline, forces your taxable event early, and leaves you sitting in cash.

What to say back

Ask one question: "If I provide full source-of-funds documentation for the crypto — ownership verification, conversion records, and a direct wire to escrow — can we proceed without the seasoning period?"

Lenders who've closed crypto-funded deals will often say yes and hand you a documentation checklist. If your lender says no with documentation on the table, ask whether that is a written program requirement or a preference: some programs genuinely require a holding period or custodial statements, and some loan officers simply haven't done this before. Plenty have: RealOpen deals have closed across multiple lenders with the lender requiring nothing more than the down payment delivered to escrow alongside the buyer's RealScore™ report and our Transaction Record — about two days before closing, with no separate seasoning period. Get the checklist approved before moving funds.

What the documentation looks like

Wallet ownership proof, holding history, a papered conversion to USD, and a one-hop wire to escrow. That's the file RealOpen produces by default: verification up front (that's your Proof of Funds letter, ~15 minutes), conversion on the funding date your lender and escrow approve through OTC execution, funds wired straight to escrow. Full breakdown: how to document crypto as a source of funds; the step-by-step playbook is making a crypto down payment with RealOpen.

If you're not financing at all

Then this entire conversation is someone else's problem. Outright purchases have no underwriter and no seasoning rule. Convert when funds are due, wire to escrow, keep your position until then. That's the standard RealOpen flow.

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