It started with Strategy, then called MicroStrategy, adopting BTC as a balance sheet asset in 2020. Now the head of the U.S. government agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wants the mortgage giants to consider homebuyers' cryptocurrency holdings in their criteria for buying mortgages from banks.
"After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage. SO ORDERED," Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said on X.
Getting entrenched in the housing market of the world's largest economy can only add to the ongoing bull momentum in BTC and other cryptocurrencies. And, in a move could markedly improve big banks' ability to create credit, the Federal Reserve advanced a long-awaited plan to overhaul bank capital requirements. That's a positive development for risk assets.
It's no surprise that BTC, which is most sensitive to fiat liquidity conditions, has extended gains in the past 24 hours, topping $108,000 at one point. The broader market capitalization is fast approaching a volatility threshold, according to FxPro's analyst Alex Kuptsikevich.
"The crypto market cap increased by another 1% to $3.31 trillion, reaching the threshold of increased volatility. Just above that, in the $3.40–3.55 trillion range, is a turning point, which has activated sellers and prevented the market from consolidating higher," Kuptsikevich said in an email, noting a rise in the Fear and Greed Index to 74, just one point below the extreme greed zone.
In other news, spot BTC ETFs recorded a net inflow of $548 million, marking 12 consecutive days of positive flows.
Metaplanet purchased another 1,234 BTC, a day after announcing a $515 million raise to fund the treasury strategy. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital announced a strategic shift to become a pure-play ether (ETH) staking and treasury company.
The Hong Kong Government issued a policy statement on the development of digital assets, focusing on streamlining regulatory aspects, expanding the suite of tokenized products, advancing use cases and cross-sectoral collaboration.
In traditional markets, futures tied to the Nasdaq index rose to record highs, pointing to continued risk-on sentiment while the dollar index continued to lose ground. Stay alert!
