The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has made a groundbreaking decision under the leadership of director William Pulte. The agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider cryptocurrency in their risk assessments for single-family loans. This move comes as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to promote the mainstream adoption of digital assets in the United States.
In a recent announcement, FHFA instructed both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare a proposal for the consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their respective single-family mortgage loan risk assessments. Importantly, the directive specifies that the cryptocurrency should not be converted to U.S. dollars.
The FHFA order also stipulates that only crypto assets traded and stored in U.S.-regulated centralized exchanges, such as Coinbase Global Inc. and Robinhood Markets Inc., should be taken into account in the risk assessments.
The market impact of these orders on crypto assets has been significant. Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman at Strategy, described the move by FHFA as a defining moment for institutional adoption of Bitcoin. This recognition of Bitcoin as a reserve asset by the U.S. housing system signifies a major milestone in the acceptance of digital assets by traditional financial institutions.
Following the announcement, the price of Bitcoin saw a 1 percent increase, reaching around $107,748 during the mid-North American trading session. However, there is a short-term bearish sentiment looming over the Bitcoin price unless it consistently closes above $110k in the days ahead.
Overall, the FHFA’s decision to incorporate cryptocurrency into risk assessments for single-family loans marks a significant step towards the mainstream adoption of digital assets in the United States. This move is expected to have a positive impact on the crypto market and further validate the role of cryptocurrencies in the traditional financial system.