The mortgage giant plans to accept payments in cryptocurrencies in 2021. Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to lead the way, and its younger siblings will follow.
Walk before you run: Bitcoin before its cadets
Mortgage company United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) plans to accept cryptocurrency payments in 2021. The company’s CEO Mat Ishbia revealed the company’s cryptocurrency ambitions during the company’s second quarter earnings call on August 16, 2021.
UWM would accept bitcoin payments initially, before opening up to ether (ETH) and other altcoins, getting ahead of its competitors:
“We will walk before we run. But at the same time, we’re definitely a leader in technology and innovation, and we always try to be the best and the leader in everything we do.”
This dive into cryptocurrencies is expected to happen during the third or fourth quarter of 2021.
Pioneer, but not first: Bitcoin and real estate
UWM is a mortgage lending giant, so its scale can make a significant contribution to cryptocurrency adoption. The company recorded $59.2 billion in closed mortgages in the second quarter, up from $49.1 billion in the previous quarter. Its total profit margin, however, fell from 2.19 percent to 0.81 percent due to tighter margins in the industry.
While UWM is still among the pioneers in the real estate sector that are embracing cryptocurrencies, the first bitcoin real estate purchase was seven years ago. The Lake Tahoe property had actually been purchased for $1.6 million in BTC via BitPay in August 2014.
More recently, Toronto-based mortgage brokerage Matrix Mortgage Global announced in April that it would accept via Bitpay, payments in BTC, ETH, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as well as stablecoins for its services.
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are gradually making their mark in real estate. Applications range from mortgage payments, as UWM plans to do, to security token offering (STO) making real estate investment accessible even to the low budget.
