More than 10% of Americans hold digital assets, with some maintaining six- and seven-figure portfolios, according to Rate’s press release. But despite that growth, mortgage lenders have generally required borrowers to liquidate cryptocurrency holdings, potentially triggering tax consequences, or to use pledged-loan structures that can limit control over the assets.

RateFi is designed to allow borrowers to use verified, nonliquidated cryptocurrency as qualifying income and reserves within existing mortgage frameworks.

“Digital assets are real assets, yet mortgage lending has treated them as invisible,” Kate Amor, executive vice president and head of enterprise products at Rate, said in a statement. “RateFi changes that….