mortgage

According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited plans to raise up to HKD 12 billion (USD 1.5 billion) through its first issuance of digital bonds, which could become the largest issuance of such bonds in history. Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation is a financial services provider owned by the Hong Kong government, with total assets of approximately HKD 221.8 billion.Insiders revealed that Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation is expected to start marketing multi-currency digital bonds denominated in Hong Kong dollars and offshore renminbi as early as next month. This debt instrument, which utilizes blockchain technology in the issuance, trading, and settlement phases, not only shortens settlement times and reduces costs but also accelerates scalability.

Economist Peter Schiff posted on the X platform that mortgage structures backed by crypto assets could significantly increase home buying costs.Borrowers not only have to pay traditional mortgage interest but also bear the interest on the "second loan" secured by crypto assets. This model essentially amounts to 100% financing for the property, thereby amplifying leverage levels and potentially increasing overall default risk.

Coinbase and mortgage platform Better Home & Finance announced a partnership to launch a home loan product secured by Bitcoin or USDC, guaranteed by Fannie Mae. Borrowers do not need to sell their crypto assets; they can use them as collateral to apply for an independent loan to pay the down payment while also being approved for a standard mortgage, ultimately holding two loans with the same interest rate and repayment period, with monthly payments combined.The product complies with Fannie Mae guidelines, with interest rates significantly lower than traditional crypto-backed loans. If the price of Bitcoin drops, the collateral will not face forced liquidation due to market fluctuations, only facing liquidation risk after 60 days of overdue payments. Borrowers using USDC as collateral can offset part of the loan interest with the earnings generated from the collateral.Coinbase One members can complete transactions through Better and receive a rebate on transaction fees equivalent to 1% of the mortgage amount, capped at $10,000. The two companies stated that they plan to expand the range of eligible collateral to include tokenized stocks and fixed-income assets in the future.

Fannie Mae will accept cryptocurrency mortgages for the first time.

Venus Protocol released a statement regarding the THE market event, stating that this incident was not a flash loan attack, but rather a result of the attacker exploiting a supply cap vulnerability in the old code of the protocol. The team indicated that the attacker had been accumulating THE tokens for about 9 months, gradually establishing a dominant supply position on Venus.The announcement pointed out that the attacker bypassed the normal deposit process by directly transferring THE tokens into the protocol contract, thereby breaking through the supply cap limit of 14.5 million THE. They manipulated DEX prices by taking advantage of the low on-chain liquidity. As the external price was gradually reflected by the TWAP oracle, the attacker borrowed assets (such as CAKE, BNB, etc.) against the inflated collateral value, then bought more THE to drive up the price, and continuously transferred THE into the vTHE market to increase the collateral value. This cycle once pushed the price from about $0.27 to about $0.53, ultimately leaving bad debt in the protocol after the positions were liquidated.Venus stated that it has currently suspended the THE market, reduced its collateral factor to 0, and suspended withdrawals. Additionally, as a precautionary measure, the collateral factors for 8 markets including BCH, LTC, AAVE, POL, FIL, TWT, UNI, and lisUSD have also been reduced to 0. The team and security partners are continuing to investigate and will release a complete post-analysis report in the future.

According to Jin Ten, Fed's Schmid stated on Wednesday that high inflation remains a key issue that the Fed needs to address, but he did not specify how monetary policy should respond. Schmid said, "I think we still have work to do on inflation," while noting that the employment situation is quite good. He pointed out that the large amount of mortgage-backed securities held from the Fed's past bond-buying actions continues to suppress housing borrowing costs, and mortgage rates "could be 75 to 100 basis points lower than their original levels."

According to Jinshi reports, Fed's Schmid stated that the Federal Reserve needs several years to gradually reduce the scale of its mortgage-backed securities holdings.

Canadian venture capital firm Framework Ventures has reached an agreement to acquire approximately 10% of the publicly listed mortgage lending institution Better.com for about $45 million.This move comes as Better.com plans to enter the asset tokenization space and intends to issue token products backed by $500 million in mortgage and other loan assets. Sources reveal that the retail-oriented token may be named "Home Token." The company stated that the initial tokens will be available only to accredited investors, with plans to gradually expand to a broader user base in the future. Better.com founder and CEO Vishal Garg stated that tokenization can reduce intermediary steps, thereby lowering financing costs and providing consumers with lower interest rate mortgage products.It is reported that Better.com is collaborating with the DeFi ecosystem Sky to advance the on-chain mortgage assets. Sky uses real-world assets (RWA) to back stablecoins, with the current ecosystem capital size of approximately $18 billion. Framework Ventures is also one of the key supporters of Sky. Better.com had planned to go public in 2021 with a valuation of $7.7 billion, but the stock price plummeted over 90% on its actual listing day in 2023. The company's current market capitalization is approximately $450 million.

According to Cointelegraph, the "2025 Digital Wealth Report" released by Xapo Bank in Gibraltar shows that the usage pattern of its Bitcoin mortgage loan business is shifting from short-term liquidity to long-term financial planning.The report states that 52% of the Bitcoin mortgage loans issued by the bank in 2025 have a loan term of 365 days, and even as new loans slow down within the year, these long-term loans remain outstanding. The bank's CEO, Seamus Rocca, stated that increased confidence in Bitcoin's long-term prospects is prompting holders to choose borrowing over selling, indicating a shift from short-term speculation to long-term thinking. The report notes that although the pace of loan issuance slowed in the second half of the year, the outstanding loan balance continues to grow, suggesting that borrowers are using loans as a long-term tool.

According to market news, Norwegian listed company K33 has announced the launch of a crypto loan service backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum, initially open to a select group of qualified clients, with loans issued in stablecoins such as USDC.K33 stated that it will also include its own holdings of Bitcoin in the service operation, creating a revenue-generating digital asset solution.

According to Cointelegraph, major U.S. lending institution Newrez announced plans to recognize crypto assets for mortgage qualification in the U.S. starting in February, without the need to liquidate.

The U.S. President Trump announced that he will launch a $200 billion mortgage-backed securities (MBS) purchase program to lower mortgage rates and alleviate the housing affordability crisis. This move is seen by the market as Trump directly pushing his "personal version of quantitative easing (QE)" beyond intervening in the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting process.Trump stated on Truth Social that he has "instructed relevant representatives to purchase $200 billion worth of mortgage bonds" to reduce mortgage rates and monthly payment costs, enhance home-buying ability, and blame the current housing crisis on the Biden administration.Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, confirmed to the Financial Times that the plan will be executed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and it does not require congressional approval. Under existing agreements, the two agencies still have a combined operational space of about $200 billion in mortgage loan investments.Analysts pointed out that this initiative is highly similar in form to the Federal Reserve's policy of purchasing MBS to stabilize the market after the 2008 financial crisis. Despite the Federal Reserve having cut rates by a cumulative 75 basis points, the current 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. remains as high as 6.16%, with housing cost pressures continuing to be a political and economic focus. Against the backdrop of high inflation and rising living costs, Trump's move is seen as an attempt to directly intervene in the housing and financial markets through executive power to boost voter confidence.

The luxury real estate brand Sotheby's International Realty, under the auction giant Sotheby's, has released a report sharing the current evolution of the global luxury real estate market and the economic policies and factors that have the greatest impact on it. The report points out that the influence of cryptocurrency on luxury home consumption is increasing, especially in markets such as Dubai, New York, and California. Adjustments in regulatory policies may allow crypto assets to be included in mortgage qualification.

Sotheby's released the "2026 Luxury Outlook Report," which points out that cryptocurrencies are increasingly influencing high-end real estate purchases, particularly in markets like Dubai, New York, and California. The report emphasizes that changes in the regulatory environment could become a significant turning point, as cryptocurrencies may be included in mortgage qualification criteria in the future, opening new pathways for buyers holding substantial amounts of cryptocurrency.

According to a report by Investing.com, Bitcoin treasury company B HODL Plc (AQSE:HODL | OTCQB: HODLF | FRA: F5S) has approved a strategic Bitcoin collateral loan framework that will utilize loan products from CoinCorner Ltd as part of its capital management strategy.The framework allows B HODL to obtain loans secured by its Bitcoin holdings under specific conditions, including a 50% loan-to-value ratio, interest-only terms, a maximum term of four years, and a total loan exposure limit of 20% of the company's Bitcoin reserve value. B HODL plans to use the borrowed funds to purchase more Bitcoin.B HODL CEO Freddie New stated that the strategy provides a flexible and efficient source of Bitcoin, aligning with the company's long-term goal of strengthening its Bitcoin holdings.

According to a report by Investing.com, Bitcoin treasury company B HODL Plc (AQSE:HODL | OTCQB: HODLF | FRA: F5S) has approved a strategic Bitcoin collateralized loan framework that will utilize loan products from CoinCorner Ltd as part of its capital management strategy.The framework allows B HODL to obtain loans secured by its Bitcoin holdings under specific conditions, including a 50% loan-to-value ratio, interest-only terms, a maximum term of four years, and a total loan exposure limit of 20% of the company's Bitcoin reserve value. B HODL plans to use the borrowed funds to purchase more Bitcoin. B HODL CEO Freddie New stated that this strategy provides a flexible and efficient source of Bitcoin, aligning with the company's long-term goal of strengthening its Bitcoin holdings.

According to official news, the ETHZilla website announcement shows that the company has acquired a 15% stake in the digital mortgage platform Zippy for approximately $21 million and has reached an agreement to tokenize manufactured home loans as on-chain RWA.Zippy focuses on the manufactured home market in the United States, with an annual financing scale of $14 billion. This move will expand ETHZilla's RWA strategic landscape. In the next 36 months, Zippy's on-chain operations will exclusively use ETHZilla's platforms such as Liquidity.io, which is expected to provide on-chain debt purchasing channels for institutional investors.

Pineapple Financial, a Canadian fintech company, announced the launch of a mortgage tokenization platform on the Injective blockchain, planning to migrate its entire historical portfolio (over 29,000 mortgages, with a total value of approximately $10 billion) to the blockchain. Currently, the company has successfully tokenized over 1,200 mortgage documents, valued at approximately $412 million. Each tokenized record contains over 500 data points, aimed at enhancing transparency and operational efficiency.In previous news, the publicly listed company Pineapple Financial launched a $100 million Injective digital asset vault strategy.

According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, "after the flash crash on October 11, the insider giant whale opened a short position." Ten minutes ago, he collateralized 55,340 ETH (worth $157 million) to Aave, then borrowed 50 million USDT and deposited it into Binance, with the purpose unknown.

Coinbase has expanded its on-chain lending products to include Ether (ETH) as collateral, allowing eligible customers to borrow up to $1 million in USDC without having to sell their cryptocurrency, with the loan supported by the Morpho lending protocol on Base, and Coinbase providing the user interface.