If passed, the legislation could give more weight to a US housing regulatory agency’s June order to consider certain digital assets for mortgage loan risk assessments.
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced a law that could codify an order from a US housing regulatory agency for mortgage purchasers to consider digital assets in applications.
In a Tuesday notice, Lummis said her proposed bill, the 21st Century Mortgage Act, would take congressional action following a June order from the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In that order, US mortgage purchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be required to “consider cryptocurrency as an asset for single-family loans.”
“This legislation embraces an innovative path to wealth-building keeping in mind the growing number of young Americans who possess digital assets,” said Lummis.
Several Senate Democrats have already pushed back against the FHFA order, calling on Director William Pulte to “fully assess the potential risks and benefits” of adding crypto to mortgage applications, as well as its potential impact on the housing market and financial system.
“To the extent that historical volatility and liquidity persists even as the market matures, a borrower using crypto faces an increased risk that they may not be able to exit a crypto position and convert to cash at a price that would allow them to buffer against risk of mortgage default,” said Democrats in a July 24 letter to Pulte.
Related: US home mortgage regulator considers Bitcoin amid housing crisis
Lummis’ proposed law targeted young Americans struggling to find affordable long-term housing who would not be forced to convert any crypto holdings into fiat and have them assessed as collateral for housing loan applications. The Senator cited US Census Bureau data suggesting that homeownership for US residents under the age of 35 was about 36% as of the first quarter of 2025.
The Senate is about to go on August recess; crypto bills are incoming
The crypto-mortgage bill is one of three that the US Senate may consider after the chamber adjourns this week for a month-long recess.
In addition to the mortgage legislation, Lummis is one of the lead Republicans in charge of a bill to establish a digital asset market structure in the Senate. A bill aimed at barring the Federal Reserve from launching a central bank digital currency is also under consideration after passing the House of Representatives in July.
The House, already on recess after Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the chamber ahead of schedule, has a similar crypto mortgage proposal from Republican Representative Nancy Mace.
The American Homeowner Crypto Modernization Act, introduced by Mace on July 14, would require mortgage lenders “to consider, in the mortgage credit evaluation process, the value of any digital assets a borrower has in any brokerage account associated with a cryptocurrency exchange.”
An Australia-based company, Block Earner, said in July that it planned to roll out Bitcoin-backed mortgages, which offered a similar path for crypto users to hold their assets.
The launch was announced after the Federal Court of Australia ruled that the company’s crypto lending products did not qualify as financial products under the country’s Corporations Act.
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