Propy partners with Abra to provide crypto-backed real estate loans

Published at: April 28, 2022

Blockchain real estate platform Propy has partnered with Abra to allow customers to obtain home loans using their cryptocurrency holdings, potentially widening the financial use cases of digital assets.

Propy customers can now put up digital assets as collateral for their real estate purchases through Abra Borrow, a cryptocurrency lending and borrowing service. Crypto collateral pledged on Abra is used to borrow United States dollars that can then be applied to home purchases.

The Propy blockchain records the entire transaction process, serving as the technical and legal framework for buyers and sellers. According to Propy, the blockchain records the transaction whether it’s made in crypto, nonfungible tokens (NFT) or traditional fiat currency.

Propy founder and CEO Natalia Karayaneva told Cointelegraph that access to DeFi and crypto mortgages is a "key component to making crypto and NFT property sales and purchases viable for a wider population." As a next step, the company is planning a "real property NFT sale" with instant mortgage approvals.

Abra is a crypto-focused wealth management platform that has been around since 2014. The platform allows users to generate yield on their crypto, borrow dollars against their holdings and trade digital assets. Abra has received backing from several major companies, including Amex Ventures , the venture capital arm of American Express, which contributed to its $55 million Series C funding round in September 2021.

While early crypto investors have generated significant wealth over the years, their access to traditional financial products such as mortgages remains limited. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications are attempting to fill the void. As Cointelegraph reported, a new homeowner in Austin, Texas recently purchased property through a mortgage obtained from USDC.homes, a crypto loan service based on Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).

If you're buying a home in the future, you'll probably be using NFTs. Here's how crypto is changing real estate in the meantime. https://t.co/jiLT9Uojvd

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) February 19, 2022

Fintech startup Milo is also offering crypto mortgages to homebuyers wishing to use their Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral. Meanwhile, decentralized mortgage lender Bacon Protocol launched a program in September 2021 that allows homeowners to exchange a lien on their property for an NFT that represents a percentage of the property they bought.