RealOpen vs. Milo

A crypto mortgage, or crypto with a traditional one

Milo is a lender. Its crypto mortgage is a 30-year loan secured by the house and by Bitcoin or Ethereum you pledge — up to 100% financing, no cash down payment, your coins held by a custodian for the life of the loan. RealOpen is not a lender. It works with buyers getting a traditional mortgage, QM or non-QM, from any lender: verifying crypto for reserve qualification and converting crypto into a documented down payment. Or no loan at all — convert at closing and buy in cash.

If you’re comparing the two, you’re really choosing between pledging your crypto and using it.

Milo terms last checked: September 20, 2026, from Milo’s own product pages and press coverage. RealOpen is not affiliated with Milo.

The one-sentence version of each

Milo: a direct lender offering a 30-year mortgage collateralized by pledged BTC or ETH — more than $100 million originated as of early 2026.

RealOpen: crypto asset verification and crypto-to-dollar conversion for a home purchase. With a traditional mortgage, that means verified holdings for reserves and a documented down payment. No loan, no collateral, no custody.

Side by side

MiloRealOpen
What it isA mortgage lender. The crypto mortgage replaces a traditional loanNot a lender. Works alongside your own traditional mortgage (QM or non-QM), or a cash purchase
Down paymentNone in cash — up to 100% financing against pledged cryptoFunded from your crypto: converted at closing and wired to escrow as documented dollars
What happens to your cryptoPledged for the life of the loan — roughly the full property value in BTC or ETHReserves stay in your wallet, untouched. Only the down-payment amount is converted
AssetsBitcoin and EthereumBTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, stablecoins, and the rest of the accepted list
CustodyThird-party custodian (BitGo or Coinbase Custody); Milo states no rehypothecationSelf-custody throughout — cold storage, hardware wallet, multisig, or exchange
RatePublished range roughly 7–9%Whatever your traditional lender offers — or no interest on a cash purchase
Price-drop riskMargin call and possible liquidation if collateral falls far enoughNone. Nothing is pledged
TaxesNo sale at originationA taxable disposal on the amount converted
AvailabilityLoans from $275,000; not available in all statesWorks with any listing and any traditional lender you choose

Who each one fits

Milo fits a holder with a large BTC or ETH position who won’t sell any of it, is comfortable with third-party custody, can pledge coins worth about the whole house, and accepts a rate above a conventional mortgage plus margin-call exposure in a deep drawdown. For someone sitting on big long-term gains, that trade can be rational.

RealOpen fits a buyer who wants an ordinary mortgage at an ordinary rate and needs the crypto side of the file to work:

  • Your lender wants reserves and your wealth is in crypto, including self-custodied coins
  • Your down payment is coming from crypto and you don’t want to cash out months early to season it
  • You hold assets beyond BTC and ETH
  • You want nothing pledged — or no loan at all

How RealOpen works with a traditional mortgage

  • Reserves. A RealScore™ Report — RealOpen’s crypto reserve asset verification — proves wallet ownership, holdings, history, and a volatility-adjusted value your lender can confirm at realopen.com/verify. See crypto assets as mortgage reserves.
  • Down payment. You send crypto at funding; RealOpen converts it and wires dollars to escrow with the source-of-funds paper trail. See the crypto down payment guide.

You choose the lender. RealOpen doesn’t originate, broker, or fund the loan.

Verify your crypto for a traditional mortgage

Frequently asked questions