In Bulletin 2021-36 Freddie Mac clarified issues surrounding the use of cryptocurrency assets in the mortgage qualification and underwriting processes. Freddie Mac noted the “high level of uncertainty” surrounding cryptocurrencies and because of such uncertainty it announced the following rules:
- Income which Borrowers receive in the form of cryptocurrency may not be used to qualify for the mortgage.
- When income is derived from a source that requires evidence of sufficient remaining assets to establish likelihood of the continuance of the income (e.g., trust income, interest income, account distributions), the underlying assets of the account/trust may not be cryptocurrencies.
- Cryptocurrency assets may not be included in calculating the basis for repayment of obligations.
- Borrowers’ monthly payments on debts secured by cryptocurrency must still be included in the Borrowers debt-to-income ratio and are not subject to provisions regarding installment debt secured by financial assets.
- Any cryptocurrency assets needed to complete the mortgage transaction must be exchanged for U.S. Dollars prior to being used for the mortgage transaction.