Australia Approves First Bitcoin-Backed Mortgage After Landmark Legal Win

     

Block Earner’s victory over regulators clears path for crypto-collateralized home loans in real estate sector

Australia has launched its first Bitcoin-backed mortgage product, signaling a major milestone in merging digital assets with traditional home financing.

The breakthrough follows a courtroom triumph by fintech startup Block Earner against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which had challenged the firm’s ability to offer the product without a standard financial services license. The court sided with Block Earner, ruling that crypto-backed lending did not fall under conventional licensing requirements.

Australians can now secure home loans using their Bitcoin holdings as collateral-without needing to sell them. Block Earner emphasized that when homes are measured in inflation-resistant assets like Bitcoin or gold, long-term holders may actually find increased purchasing power compared to traditional fiat-based metrics.

Across the Pacific, the U.S. is also exploring crypto integration into mortgage lending. In June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create policies allowing verified crypto assets on regulated U.S. exchanges to count in mortgage risk assessments. While this opens new possibilities, self-custodied assets are excluded under the current directive.

A new bill, H.R.4374, introduced in the U.S. House on July 14, could take things further by mandating the inclusion of regulated crypto holdings in borrower qualifications-potentially giving crypto investors a route to homeownership without liquidating their portfolios.