- Crypto’s increasing popularity will eventually see crypto-backed mortgage products enter the Australian lending market, according to Stephanie Coleman from Unconditional Finance.
- At the moment though, crypto remains largely excluded from lending decisions due to a lack of regulatory clarity and concerns over volatility, Coleman said.
Australia will eventually follow the lead of countries like the US in allowing crypto-backed mortgages, but for now, lenders are still wary of digital assets because of their high volatility and lack of regulatory clarity, according to Australian mortgage broker Stephanie Coleman.
Coleman, operations manager at Sydney-based brokerage Unconditional Finance, told Broker Daily that Aussie lenders will inevitably move to accept crypto as security for mortgages.
“I think the direction is clear: as crypto becomes more mainstream and regulatory frameworks mature, lenders will have no choice but to develop proper policies around it,” Coleman said.
We’re already seeing overseas markets, particularly in the US, move more quickly on this. Australia will eventually follow.
Stephanie Coleman, Unconditional FinanceRecently, crypto exchange Coinbase partnered with Better Home and Finance to offer a product in the US market that allows borrowers to use USDC or Bitcoin as collateral to help cover a home loan deposit.
Coleman believes that the Aussie crypto lending market is likely to evolve along two lines — a mainstream mortgage approach where there’d be a standardised assessment framework for digital assets held by regular borrowers, and another approach which would offer specialised lending products to individuals with substantial crypto wealth.
For now, in Australia, crypto is still excluded from borrowing decisions despite significant growth in the number of Aussies who are holding part of their wealth in crypto.
Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index 2026 found that 33% of Australians currently hold crypto, marking the highest ownership rate in the index’s history. Independent Reserve’s figures show crypto ownership rates have almost doubled since 2019, up from 17%.
Despite this surge in adoption by regular Aussies, Coleman says lenders still aren’t considering crypto holdings as relevant assets when it comes time to get a mortgage.
“Crypto is still outside the mainstream Australian mortgage system,” she said. “Most lenders do not accept it as security, and its primary use remains converted to cash and used as a deposit.”
According to Coleman, the primary reason for this is regulatory uncertainty, explaining that “AUSTRAC and ASIC guidelines mean lenders carry significant compliance risk if they can’t verify the origin of crypto wealth, so many simply avoid it altogether.”
Until there’s clearer regulatory guidance specific to digital assets in lending, most lenders will remain conservative.
Stephanie Coleman, Unconditional FinanceRelated: Gen Z in Australia Is Done Waiting for the Financial System to Work
Crypto Regulation Around Mortgages Could Provide Opportunity for Lenders and Borrowers
According to Coleman, the continued adoption of crypto by Australians and the expansion of the nation’s regulatory framework around digital assets will see significant opportunity for both mortgage lenders and borrowers.
“The opportunity is real,” she said.
For brokers who understand the crypto landscape, Coleman says there’s the opportunity for them to attract the business of many younger Aussies who now have significant crypto holdings.
“There’s a growing generation of borrowers, particularly younger Australians, who hold meaningful wealth in crypto and want to enter the property market,” Coleman said.
“Brokers who understand this space and know which lenders will work with crypto-sourced funds can genuinely differentiate themselves and serve an underserviced market.”
For those looking to borrow, the benefits are obvious — they can leverage the wealth they hold in crypto assets without having to sell into dollars first.
Of course, the issue of volatility remains a concern even if regulatory challenges are tackled — it’s hard for a lender to accept collateral that could fluctuate enormously in value from month to month, or in some cases even from week to week.
Related: Banking Woes Rise as Record One-Third of Australians Invest in Digital Assets
Despite this risk, Coleman remains positive about the progress being made on digital assets in Australia.
“Twelve months ago, the crypto conversation was almost non-existent with mainstream lenders,” Coleman said.
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