skip to main content

Second-largest U.S. mortgage lender ditches its plan to accept payments in bitcoin

CNBC

U.S. homebuyers apparently aren’t all that interested in paying their mortgages in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

United Wholesale Mortgage, which made its public debut in January via a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) merger, began piloting crypto payments in August in a first for the industry. But CEO Mat Ishbia now tells CNBC that after testing it out, the company decided it wasn’t worth it.

“Due to the current combination of incremental costs and regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space, we’ve concluded we aren’t going to extend beyond a pilot at this time,” said Ishbia.

The Michigan-based mortgage company tried three different types of crypto – bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin – and multiple different borrowers to see how the process would work. UWM successfully accepted its first-ever cryptocurrency mortgage payment in September and five more in October.

But ultimately, the demand wasn’t there. Ishbia tells CNBC that borrowers “liked it” and “said it was cool” but having the option to transact in crypto “wasn’t a driver.”

“There was not enough demand at the end of the day to really push the envelope too hard,” he said.

UWM logo

Source