Ark: Cryptocurrency’s First Step into the U.S. Housing Market

Author: Nick Grous, Ark Invest Deputy Portfolio Manager; Translator: AIMan@黄金财经

Last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals to consider cryptocurrency holdings (but only those held on centralized exchanges regulated in the United States) as assets in the risk assessment of single-family residential mortgages. The directive does not require that cryptocurrencies be converted into U.S. dollars, nor does it include cryptocurrencies in self-custodial wallets. The directive also requires risk control measures, such as considering cryptocurrency market volatility and limiting the amount of cryptocurrency that can be counted in reserves.

The directive builds a new bridge between blockchain-based capital and the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market. If the FHFA finalizes this rule, setting a precedent for the wider application of mortgages and crypto assets, blockchain-based balance sheets will likely have a significant impact on the mortgage market by simplifying the underwriting process, reducing transaction costs, and enabling mortgage instruments pegged to tokens.

According to a 2025 Harris Poll commissioned by CryptoSlate, 21% of U.S. adults own digital assets. Of the approximately 55 million individuals who own crypto assets, 6 million hold an average of more than $100,000 in assets. Given the wealth that individuals are accumulating on-chain, the impact of crypto assets on credit markets could become significant.

According to iEmergent’s 2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, there were approximately 6 million mortgage originations in the U.S. last year, valued at $1.82 trillion, implying an average loan size of approximately $340,000. By this calculation, if only 5% of mortgage borrowers included crypto assets in their applications, approximately 305,000 people would qualify for a mortgage under this new framework, supporting $100 billion in originations. Each percentage point increase in adoption would increase mortgage volume by approximately $20 billion.

Our methodology is based solely on penetration x average trade size, assuming no changes in leverage multiples or trade velocity, so the upside potential could be significantly higher. This regulatory development is consistent with ARK’s thesis that cryptocurrencies will reshape the traditional financial system with greater transparency, automation, and interoperability.