Better Home & Finance
Better Home & Finance Holding Company is a publicly traded financial-technology company that provides mortgage and other homeownership services, principally in the United States. Its U.S. mortgage loans are originated through Better Mortgage Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary. The company also offers refinancing, home-equity products and services related to real-estate agents, title and homeowners' insurance.[1]
History
Better was founded in 2015 as a digital-first mortgage business. It developed a proprietary loan-origination platform called Tinman and began offering mortgages in 2016. Better Home & Finance Holding Company became publicly traded on Nasdaq in August 2023 after a business combination with Aurora Acquisition Corp.[2]
The company is headquartered in New York. Its mortgage business sells eligible loans to institutional purchasers rather than retaining every originated loan for its full term.
Products and technology
Better's products include mortgages for home purchases, rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing, home-equity lines of credit and related homeownership services. Its software is intended to connect application, underwriting, closing and sale of a loan. Availability and terms vary by state, borrower and product.
Tinman is the company's mortgage workflow and underwriting platform. Better has also introduced customer-facing automated assistance under the Betsy name. Automation does not replace the legal underwriting criteria, disclosures or human accountability applicable to a mortgage.
Token-backed mortgages
In March 2026, Better and Coinbase announced a mortgage structure intended to let eligible borrowers pledge cryptoassets rather than sell them to fund a cash down payment. The companies initially described bitcoin and USDC as supported assets.[3] Independent reporting at the time described the product as planned for rollout within three months and emphasized that the crypto pledge supported a separate down-payment loan.[4]
Better later closed an initial bitcoin-backed conforming mortgage and, on 26 August 2026, made the program generally available to eligible Coinbase One members.[5] Better's current application page describes two loans at closing:
- a conforming mortgage secured by the home; and
- a separate loan that funds the cash down payment and is secured by pledged bitcoin plus a second lien on the home.
Better originates both loans. The pledged bitcoin is transferred into Better's custodial account on Coinbase Prime and is returned after the down-payment loan is repaid. At general availability, Better stated that bitcoin equal to 250 percent of the down-payment loan was required, meaning that pledged bitcoin worth $250,000 could support a $100,000 down-payment loan. The company says a decline in bitcoin's price does not create a margin call or top-up requirement, but collateral can be liquidated after defined payment delinquency.[6]
The arrangement does not make bitcoin legal tender for the property purchase, and it does not make the entire mortgage a loan from Coinbase. Borrowers assume the ordinary obligations of a mortgage plus the risks of a second loan, a second lien, crypto custody and possible liquidation. Tax treatment depends on the borrower's circumstances and may change if collateral is sold.
Corporate and lending risks
Better is exposed to interest-rate changes, housing-market conditions, mortgage demand, funding and loan-sale markets, credit and repurchase obligations, regulation and operational failures. Borrowers should evaluate product disclosures and binding loan documents rather than relying on marketing examples.
See also
References
- ↑ Better Home & Finance prospectus, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025.
- ↑ Better Home & Finance 2026 proxy statement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026.
- ↑ Better and Coinbase launch token-backed conforming mortgage, Better Home & Finance, 26 March 2026.
- ↑ Better Home & Finance and Coinbase to offer mortgage backed by cryptocurrencies, Associated Press, 26 March 2026.
- ↑ Coinbase and Better make token-backed mortgages generally available, The Block, 26 August 2026.
- ↑ Crypto-backed mortgages, Better Mortgage, accessed 27 August 2026.