Loans · Fannie Mae Selling GuideUsing crypto for a down payment: sell it, move it to a bank, document it

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide treats cryptocurrency as 'virtual currency' (B3-4.1-04). It can be used for the down payment, closing costs and financial reserves only after it has been exchanged into U.S. dollars, with documented evidence of the exchange, and the dollars are held in a U.S. or state regulated financial institution; the funds must be verified in U.S. dollars before the loan closes. A large deposit into the buyer's bank account may come from crypto that was sold, and the lender must get enough documentation to show the money came from the borrower's own virtual currency account. Virtual currency may not be used for the earnest money deposit on the purchase contract. In practice, a buyer planning to use crypto should sell early, move the dollars into a regulated bank account and keep the exchange statements that tie the sale to the deposit.