In brief
Block Earner said it will issue loans covering up to 50% of a property’s value by locking Bitcoin in third-party custody.
The company claims to have received $110 million in early borrower interest despite no formal lender partnerships yet in place.
The launch signals a growing effort to reframe Bitcoin as a viable asset for wealth assessment, amid ongoing housing affordability pressures.
Block Earner, a Sydney-based fintech offering crypto yield and payment products, is pitching a new way for Australians to buy homes without selling their Bitcoin.
Rolling out what it calls Australia’s first Bitcoin-backed home loan, the crypto firm offers up to 50% of a property’s value as a deposit loan secured against the borrower’s Bitcoin.
The crypto is held in custody with Fireblocks, a digital asset security platform. Repayments can be made in either cash or crypto, and borrowers can exit early without incurring a penalty.
“We know that liquidity can be unlocked in a secure manner and help bring these previously excluded Australians into the conversation for traditional assets,” James Coombes, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Block Earner, told Decrypt. “Their ‘readiness’ is now; they just don’t look it.”
Charlie Karaboga, CEO and co-founder at Block Earner, meanwhile, characterizes the product as “a turning point” for property financing in the digital assets sector.
“We’re giving them a smarter option, a way to put their crypto to work without giving it up,” he said.
The model is straightforward: users transfer Bitcoin to a custodian, borrow up to half the property’s value as a deposit, and then obtain the remaining amount from a traditional lender.
The Bitcoin loan is interest-only for up to four years, while Block Earner claims the structure allows borrowers to maintain BTC exposure while sidestepping the liquidation and tax implications of selling.
Handling volatility
Asked about how they’d manage Bitcoin’s volatility, Karaboga told Decrypt the loan is capped at a 60% loan-to-value ratio, meaning the amount borrowed can’t exceed 60% of the value of the Bitcoin put up as collateral.
“We use 60% LVR, the loan comes with a monthly repayment component, and as part of regulations, if the price drops sharply, Block Earner gives the borrowers a 30-day notice to fix the LVR by fiat repayment, collateral repayment, or Bitcoin top up,” Karaboga said.
The buffer, he explained, would help protect against price swings and reduce the risk of forced liquidations.
“Within this 30-day period, either the customer or the market corrects the LVR, or Block Earner only sells partial BTC to fix it,” Karaboga told Decrypt. “The home is never at risk with Bitcoin price.”
Block Earner claims it has logged over AUD$110 million (US$72.4 million) in early borrower interest during its soft launch.
Blocks and bricks
The company’s model appears to be shadowing moves abroad.
In the U.S., housing regulators are weighing whether crypto can be counted toward mortgage eligibility.
Block Earner claims that long-term holders of Bitcoin and gold now have greater purchasing power, even as property prices continue to rise in fiat terms.
When measured in Bitcoin, the average Australian home price has fallen from 627 BTC in 2016 to just 4.3 BTC in 2024, it said.
If Bitcoin continues to outpace inflation while property prices simply track it, Block Earner argues using crypto to access real-world assets “isn’t just viable, it’s strategically sound,” and is part of a shift where digital assets are no longer siloed from the real economy.
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