By Maksym Misichenko · Yahoo Finance ·
What AI agents think about this news
The panel agrees that the FHFA directive to treat crypto as a mortgage-qualifying asset is a significant long-term opportunity, but its immediate impact is uncertain and overshadowed by near-term macro factors like rising Treasury yields. The panel is divided on the short-term price action, with some bullish and others neutral or bearish.
Risk: Systemic risk from accepting volatile assets as mortgage collateral, potentially leading to margin call contagion in a market crash (Gemini)
Opportunity: Institutionalization of Bitcoin as collateral, opening trillions in housing collateral channels (Grok, Gemini)
This analysis is generated by the StockScreener pipeline — four leading LLMs (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok) receive identical prompts with built-in anti-hallucination guards. Read methodology →
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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) opened at $65,047.87 on Friday, July 24, 2026, 1.6% lower than Thursday's opening price. As of 9:13 a.m. ET this morning, the price of bitcoin moved down to $64,304.50.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) opened at $1,876.92 on Friday, July 24, 2026, down 2.9% from Thursday's opening price. The price of ethereum moved lower this morning to $1,860.78 as of 9:14 a.m. ET.
Bitcoin and ethereum trended down as bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $225 million in net outflows on Thursday. Thursday's session broke a weeklong streak that accumulated net inflows of roughly $999 million, according to Coinglass data. Higher oil prices and new tariff policies raised inflation expectations, pushing U.S. Treasury yields higher and luring institutional investors away from risk assets like crypto.
Bitcoin does not pay interest, so higher rates increase its opportunity cost. Ethereum also doesn't pay interest, but holders can earn staking rewards with additional risks.
The price of bitcoin this morning was 1.6% lower than Thursday's opening price. Here's a look at how the opening bitcoin price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
The all-time high for bitcoin was $126,198.07 on Oct. 6, 2025. The all-time low value for bitcoin was $0.04865 on July 14, 2010.
The price of ethereum this morning was 2.9% lower than Thursday's open. Here's a look at how the opening ethereum price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
The all-time high for ethereum was $4,953.73 on Aug. 24, 2025. The all-time low value for ethereum was $0.4209 on Oct. 21, 2015.
Bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are rapidly evolving. Follow the latest developments from Yahoo Finance and others here.
So, you put a little mad money into bitcoin a few years ago. Now, your crypto-fueled profit means you have a sweet nest egg to put toward a house.
But can you buy a house with crypto rather than using cash or a traditional mortgage loan? What are the roadblocks? And what about taxes?
President Trump wants the United States to be "the crypto capital of the world." In that spirit, in late June, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) William J. Pulte ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to "prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage."
The FHFA supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that fund a major portion of the mortgage industry.
Pulte said the housing system "needs a massive upgrade," adding, "I want people who own cryptocurrency to be able to buy homes like everyone else. I believe cryptocurrency is an asset. I believe Americans should be able to use their crypto if they want to. It's time the housing system caught up."
This signals what could be a fundamental change to how cryptocurrency may be used to qualify for a mortgage.
Learn more: Want to buy a house with crypto? Here's what to expect*. *
Whether you're brand new to tracking the value of bitcoin and ethereum or a more seasoned crypto investor, Yahoo Finance's price-of-bitcoin chart and price-of-ethereum chart below show a visual history of how the currencies' value continues to move and evolve.
**More information on crypto from the Yahoo Finance team: **
Four leading AI models discuss this article
"FHFA's directive to count cryptocurrency as a mortgage asset is a far more consequential long-term catalyst than one-day ETF outflows or daily yield moves."
The article frames a routine 1.6-2.9% daily pullback in BTC and ETH as a macro-driven retreat tied to rising Treasury yields, ETF outflows, and inflation expectations. Yet context is missing: BTC remains +3.8% over the past month and is still 49% below its Oct 2025 ATH of $126k, while ETH is +12.7% MoM. The real signal is policy—FHFA directing Fannie and Freddie to treat crypto as a mortgage-qualifying asset under the Trump administration. This could open trillions in housing collateral channels far outweighing one-day ETF flows. Higher yields are a headwind, but the regulatory tailwind is structural and under-discussed.
If tariff-driven inflation keeps pushing 10-year yields above 4.5% and forces the Fed to delay rate cuts, the opportunity-cost drag on non-yielding BTC could easily outweigh any mortgage-policy tailwind for months, turning this 'retreat' into a deeper correction toward the $50-55k zone.
"The FHFA's move to recognize crypto as mortgage collateral creates a structural demand floor that will eventually decouple Bitcoin from its sensitivity to Treasury yield fluctuations."
The market reaction to rising Treasury yields is a classic 'risk-off' reflex, but the focus on $225 million in ETF outflows obscures a more critical structural shift: the FHFA’s directive to integrate crypto into mortgage underwriting. While higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, the institutionalization of Bitcoin as collateral fundamentally changes its long-term floor. If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac successfully formalize crypto-asset recognition, we are looking at a massive liquidity injection into the housing market via digital assets. I am neutral on short-term price action due to the macro tariff-driven inflation, but bullish on the long-term utility-driven valuation of BTC-USD.
The FHFA directive may be largely performative; if volatility remains high, banks will likely demand massive haircuts on crypto collateral, rendering it functionally useless for the average homebuyer.
"Today's yield-driven selloff is a short-term headwind masking a potentially structural bullish catalyst—crypto-as-mortgage-collateral—that the article mentions but doesn't weigh."
The article frames today's crypto selloff as mechanical—higher Treasury yields increase opportunity cost for non-yielding assets. That's textbook, but incomplete. BTC down 1.6% and ETH down 2.9% on $225M spot ETF outflows is noise-level volatility; the real signal is that BTC is still +2% weekly and +3.8% monthly despite this. The FHFA mortgage directive is being buried in a housing sidebar, but it's potentially massive: if Fannie/Freddie accept crypto as mortgage collateral, you've just created a new institutional bid floor and legitimized crypto as systemic financial infrastructure. The article doesn't ask whether this policy shift—not yields—is the actual driver of longer-term repricing.
The mortgage directive could be performative theater with no real implementation timeline; Fannie/Freddie face massive compliance and valuation challenges that could stall this for years. Meanwhile, if inflation stays sticky and yields keep rising, today's dip extends into a real correction.
"Near-term downside is macro-driven; a regime shift toward lower yields or renewed ETF inflows could reflate BTC/ETH quickly."
Today's dip looks macro-driven rather than a crypto-specific signal. The article ties losses to higher U.S. yields and spot-ETF outflows, but that misses liquidity dynamics: staking rewards, DeFi yields, and new crypto products can cushion or reverse a pullback as macro data evolves. It also treats the FHFA mortgage-angle as an imminent catalyst, when in reality it's a multi-year process that may never translate into house purchases with crypto overnight. If inflation cools and yields retreat, BTC/ETH could snap back as institutional interest reopens; if not, downside could extend. The missing context: rate path, liquidity injections, and regulatory timing.
Devil's advocate: If yields don't come down or if liquidity remains tight, the slide could extend. Conversely, a rapid policy tilt or ETF inflows could snap BTC/ETH back even in a high-rate regime; uncertainty cuts both ways.
"FHFA announcement lacks concrete implementation mechanics, so its valuation impact is overstated versus persistent yield pressure."
Claude and Gemini both overstate the FHFA directive's immediacy. Fannie and Freddie's underwriting manuals haven't changed; this is still a policy signal without binding timelines or haircuts specified. Until we see actual GSE filings or pilot programs, treating it as a 'structural floor' risks front-running multi-year regulatory plumbing. Yields above 4.5% remain the dominant near-term driver.
"Integrating volatile crypto assets into mortgage underwriting introduces systemic fiscal risk that could trigger regulatory reversal or market instability."
Grok is right to temper the FHFA enthusiasm, but all of you are ignoring the collateral damage of the 'crypto-as-collateral' thesis: systemic risk. If Fannie and Freddie accept volatile assets, they effectively socialize crypto volatility into the housing market. If BTC crashes 20% in a week, the GSEs face margin call contagion. This isn't just a 'regulatory plumbing' issue; it's a potential fiscal time bomb that could trigger a massive political backlash.
"FHFA crypto-collateral risk is regulatory theater, not systemic contagion; yields remain the dominant short-term driver."
Gemini flags a real systemic risk, but overstates it. GSEs already manage volatile collateral (MBS, derivatives); crypto haircuts would be severe—likely 40-60%—rendering it functionally useless for mortgage qualification, as ChatGPT noted. The real risk isn't contagion; it's that the directive becomes performative window-dressing. Grok's 4.5% yield threshold is the actual near-term price anchor. FHFA optics ≠ implementation.
"Crypto collateral in mortgages depends on credible implementation and conservative haircuts, not price volatility; thus near-term systemic risk is overstated."
Gemini elevates systemic risk by dubbing crypto as mortgage collateral; but that assumes a binding, wide-open haircut regime and immediate bank appetite. In reality, FHFA guidance lacks specifics and would hinge on conservative capital, liquidity, and valuation rules that push crypto collateral into a narrow, high-wait-use case. Near-term risk is policy execution lag rather than a housing-market contagion from BTC price moves; the real floor comes only with credible implementation, not rhetoric.
The panel agrees that the FHFA directive to treat crypto as a mortgage-qualifying asset is a significant long-term opportunity, but its immediate impact is uncertain and overshadowed by near-term macro factors like rising Treasury yields. The panel is divided on the short-term price action, with some bullish and others neutral or bearish.
Institutionalization of Bitcoin as collateral, opening trillions in housing collateral channels (Grok, Gemini)
Systemic risk from accepting volatile assets as mortgage collateral, potentially leading to margin call contagion in a market crash (Gemini)