United Wholesale Mortgage is the second-largest mortgage lender in the US.

United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) has announced plans to accept cryptocurrencies in payment for home loans from the third quarter of this year, starting with bitcoin. Other cryptocurrencies, such as ether, are under evaluation, too. The move by UWMC is a first for the mortgage industry. (CNBC)

UWMC is the second largest mortgage lender after Quicken in the US. It sells its home loans through a network of brokers, hence ‘wholesale.’ It went public in January through a $16 billion SPAC merger with Gores Holdings IV Inc., which was then a record for SPAC deals.

UWMC Mortgages in crypto

“We’ve evaluated the feasibility, and we’re looking forward to being the first mortgage company in America to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments,” CEO Mat Ishbia said in the company’s second quarter earnings call.

“That’s something that we’ve been working on, and we’re excited that hopefully, in Q3, we can actually execute on that before anyone in the country because we are a leader in technology and innovation.”

Though UWMC may be breaking new ground in the US, it was Canadian mortgage financier Matrix Mortgage Global that pioneered crypto-based mortgage paments in North America. It announced in April that it was accepting bitcoin, bitcoin cash, XRP and ETH, as well as several dollar-pegged stable coins.

Crypto and real estate

It was reported in June that a $22.5 million Miami Beach penthouse in the ultra-exclusive condo building Arte by Antonio Citterio, was paid for entirely with cryptocurrency by an anonymous buyer.

At $4,440.50 per square foot, it is said to be the most expensive property ever to be paid for in cryptocurrency.

Arte was developed by Alex Sapir and Giovanni Fasciano.

“We were overwhelmed by the amount of calls we received from qualified buyers just after announcing our ability to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions for the condominiums at Arte,” said Sapir, Chairman of Sapir Corp LTD.

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