Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been directed to figure out how to treat cryptocurrency as part of a homebuyer’s assets when evaluating mortgage applications, a move that could reshape risk assessment in U.S. housing finance.

A group of crypto and finance veterans are trying to raise $1 billion for a publicly traded fund that would hold a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and SOL.

Prediction market platform Kalshi has secured $185 million in fresh funding, bringing its valuation to $2 billion and placing it alongside rival Polymarket in the crypto unicorn club.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• U.S. Mortgage Giants Fannie and Freddie to Explore Counting Crypto as Mortgage Asset
• Tether Co-Founder, Ex-Blackstone Exec Seek $1B for Crypto Fund with Wilbur Ross on Board
• Kalshi Hits $2B Valuation With $185M Raise, Joins Polymarket in Prediction Market Boom

U.S. Mortgage Giants Fannie and Freddie to Explore Counting Crypto as Mortgage Asset

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been directed to figure out how to treat cryptocurrency as part of a homebuyer’s assets when evaluating mortgage applications, a move that could reshape risk assessment in U.S. housing finance.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced the order Tuesday on X, calling on the government-sponsored mortgage giants to prepare proposals that would recognize crypto as an asset class for mortgage purposes.

“Today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage,” Pulte wrote.

The policy would apply only to digital assets held on centralized crypto exchanges that are based in the U.S. and comply with all applicable regulations.

Tether Co-Founder, Ex-Blackstone Exec Seek $1B for Crypto Fund with Wilbur Ross on Board

A group of crypto and finance veterans are trying to raise $1 billion for a publicly traded fund that would hold a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and SOL.

The effort is being led by M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company that recently changed hands. 

Reeve Collins, a co-founder of stablecoin issuer Tether, and CC Capital, founded by former Blackstone dealmaker Chinh Chu, acquired sponsor interests in the firm in May.

Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Gabriel Abed, chair of Binance’s board of directors, are set to serve as vice chairmen of the vehicle. Jaime Leverton, the former CEO of Bitcoin miner Hut 8, will take over as chief executive.

The SPAC, which is expected to be renamed, is aiming to gather funds to build a basket of digital assets—a strategy that contrasts sharply with the Bitcoin-only approach favored by companies like MicroStrategy and Japan’s Metaplanet.

Advisory support is coming from Cantor Fitzgerald, though details of the deal, including the $1 billion target, remain in flux.

Kalshi Hits $2B Valuation With $185M Raise, Joins Polymarket in Prediction Market Boom

Prediction market platform Kalshi has secured $185 million in fresh funding, bringing its valuation to $2 billion and placing it alongside rival Polymarket in the crypto unicorn club.

The federally regulated exchange, which lets users bet on real-world events under oversight from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), plans to use the new capital to grow its engineering team and expand its market offerings, the company said in a statement Wednesday. 

This latest raise brings Kalshi’s total funding to $415 million.

The move comes just one day after reports surfaced that Polymarket, which operates in a regulatory gray area, is raising $200 million at a $1 billion valuation. 

Kalshi’s latest round was led by crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, which also recently backed GTE, a decentralized exchange.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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