United Wholesale Mortgage – the second largest mortgage lender in the USA – is aiming to become the first to adopt cryptocurrency mortgage payments.
There are plans initially to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as valid tender for use in mortgage payment transactions.
By stepping forward as the first major player in the industry to embrace cryptocurrencies United Wholesale Mortgages (UWM) hopes to position itself as the provider of choice for the rapidly-growing group of Americans turning to cryptocurrencies as a store for their savings.
This institutional adoption of DeFi by centralised finance comes as many consumers in the West are looking to cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional banking systems.
UWM provided more than $183bn in mortgage loans in 2020. Adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) for payments would mark a real turning point in the cryptocurrency’s statutre as a legal tender – and indeed as a threat to the USD.
Crypto-backed mortgages
Cryptocurrency mortgages have become a hot topic of interest in recent years, this is perhaps in part due to the rise in demand from retail crypto investors with 14% of Americans now holding crypto assets, and more than 100 million crypto users worldwide.
Speaking to the press, Mat Ishbia (the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgages), said the move was aimed at putting UWM at the front of innovation in financial technologies ensuring it continuously pursued market-leading offers for customers.
“I think we’re starting with Bitcoin, but we’re looking at Ethereum and others,” he said.
“We’re going to walk before we run, but at the same time, we are definitely a leader in technology and innovation and we are always trying to be the best and the leader in everything we do.”
Meanwhile, Spanish lawmakers have begun discussing regulatory measures that they hope will bring about a suitable framework for the introduction of cryptocurrency-backed mortgages which would also see BTC operated as a legal tender.
The world’s first crypto-backed mortgage took place in 2019, when Mighty Ducks star Brock Pierce bought a former Chapel in Amsterdam.
Mogo, a Canadian payments company began offering cryptocurrency re-mortgaging rewards in a bid to attract new customers.
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