Fannie Mae Accepts Crypto-Backed Mortgages

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Good Morning

Crypto holders can now put their bitcoin and USDC to work as mortgage collateral without selling, as Fannie Mae teams up with Coinbase and Better Home & Finance to bring digital assets into US housing finance for the first time.

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In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Fannie Mae Accepts Crypto-Backed Mortgages 👀 

• Founders Highlight: Patrick Lung of Megapot 👨 

• Deal Flows: Tazapay Closes $36M Series B 💰️ 

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TOGETHER WITH

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And the best part: If you’ve ever traded in DeFi, you likely already have points waiting.

WHAT MATTERS

Fannie Mae Accepts Crypto-Backed Mortgages

State of play: Fannie Mae is set to accept crypto-backed mortgages for the first time, allowing homebuyers to use digital assets as collateral instead of liquidating them, in a product developed with Better Home & Finance and Coinbase.

• Supported assets will initially include bitcoin and USDC, with pledged crypto held in custody via Coinbase Prime for the duration of the loan.

• Borrowers retain exposure to their holdings throughout the mortgage, with assets returned once the loan is fully repaid.

• The structure uses a separate overcollateralized loan for the down payment, keeping the main mortgage insulated from crypto volatility.

• Fannie Mae backs a large share of US mortgages, making this a significant signal of how traditional finance is beginning to accommodate crypto wealth.

Why it matters: This is the first time a government-sponsored enterprise has formally integrated crypto into US housing finance, setting a precedent that could push other major lenders to follow.

Our take: The overcollateralized structure is smart, it protects Fannie Mae from downside risk while letting crypto holders unlock liquidity without triggering taxable events.

• But the real story is normalization: once a GSE blesses crypto collateral, the "speculative asset" framing gets a lot harder to maintain.

For builders and investors: Custody infrastructure just became a mortgage dependency, which is a massive unlock for Coinbase Prime and similar institutional custody players.

• Expect competing products from other custodians and lenders, and watch for expansion beyond BTC and USDC to ETH and tokenized assets.

BUILDER-INVESTOR HIGHLIGHT

Patrick Lung of Megapot

Intro: Patrick Lung is the Founder of Megapot, a a decentralized, on-chain global lottery protocol.

Previous background: Patrick is a product leader with experience across big tech, startups, and crypto. He started at Microsoft, working on PowerPoint and AI features, then joined Kite as the first product hire, helping scale the product before its acquisition.

• At Lyft, he led multiple teams and key initiatives to improve driver earnings.

• He later moved into crypto, leading product at Genie then joined Uniswap Labs to work on NFTs and core trading improvements.

• Before Megapot, he explored new ideas around permissionless protocols at South Park Commons.

The big idea: Patrick aims to turn lotteries into a transparent, onchain system where users play with crypto and liquidity providers fund jackpots, replacing traditional centralized models.

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INSIGHTS

Sacks Exits, Bitcoin Plays Safe Haven

David Sacks is stepping down as White House crypto and AI czar after 130 days to co-chair PCAST, while JPMorgan flags bitcoin outperforming gold and silver as a safe-haven asset during the Iran war.

• PCAST covers AI, quantum, and broader tech policy, with members including Marc Andreessen, Fred Ehrsam, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg.

• Crypto market structure legislation remains stalled in the Senate Banking Committee over stablecoin rewards, despite the House passing the Clarity Act with bipartisan support.

• Gold dropped roughly 15% month-to-date, with ETFs seeing nearly $11B in outflows in the first three weeks of March, while bitcoin logged net inflows.

• Crypto usage surged in Iran as citizens moved funds to self-custody wallets and offshore platforms, underscoring bitcoin's role under capital controls.

• Bitcoin futures positioning stayed relatively stable while institutional gold and silver positions unwound sharply since January.

DEAL FLOWS

Tazapay Closes $36M Series B

Deal flows soared this week - we saw $90M+ in deals 💼 

Circle Ventures led an extension round bringing Tazapay's total Series B to $36M, backing the Singapore-based cross-border payment infrastructure provider's push across Asia, LATAM, and the Middle East.

• New investors CMT Digital and Coinbase Ventures join existing backers including Peak XV Partners, Ripple, and RTP Global.

• Tazapay has doubled revenues for three consecutive years, now serving over 1,000 enterprises and fintechs across 30 countries.

• Funds will go toward licensing expansion, GTM acceleration in emerging markets, and agentic payment infrastructure for AI-driven payment flows.

Deal flows in the past week:

• PeakAI, $2M Seed Round

• Kairos Swap, $2.4M Seed Round

• Eureka Labs, $6.7M Seed Round

• Eunice AI, $8M Seed Round

• Watch.fun, $8.6M Seed Round

• Tori Finance, Undisclosed $ Seed Round

• AtlasOra, $5M Public Token Sale

• Ledger, $50M Secondary Share Sale

• Catapult, Undisclosed $ Unknown Round

• Origins Network, $8M Unknown Round

QUICK BITES

• USDT0 expands to payments-focused blockchain Tempo.

• Circle Ventures leads Tazapay’s $36M Series B extension.

• Lawmakers introduce PREDICT Act on prediction markets.

• White House could open path for crypto in $10T 401(k) market.

• Nvidia faces certified class action over crypto revenue disclosures.

• Goldman Sachs-backed Canton chain integrates with LayerZero.

• JPMorgan says BTC shows safe-haven-like demand during Iran war.

• MARA sells 15,133 BTC for $1.1B to fund convertible note repurchase.

• GameStop didn't sell $324M worth of bitcoin in January, filing shows.

• US court rejects lawsuit seeking safe harbor for non-custodial software.

• BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund taps Chronicle for new 'verification layer.'

• Crypto Czar David Sacks leaves post to go to broader White House tech role.

• Fannie Mae to accept crypto-backed mortgages in first for US housing finance.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Stacy’s read on The Story of Pendle.

• The Learning Pill’s read on What Happened To Simple DeFi?

• Rob’s read on Solving for the Missing Link in RWA Levered Looping.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.