BlockByte Weekly: US Considers Crypto For Home Loans & Why A Weakening Dollar Could Drive Markets Higher

Hi Reader,

Thanks for reading The BlockByte Weekly, where we summarise the key updates in crypto over the last week and provide our perspective on what you need to know as an investor.
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Weekly Snapshot

• BTC: US $107,452 (~A$164,600) (+4.2%)
• Crypto Market Cap: US $3.26T (+5.2%)
• Gold: US $3,273/oz (-2.7%)
• S&P 500: 6,173 (+3.4%)
• ASX 200: 8,514 (+0.1%)
• 10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.27% (-0.1%)

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Executive Summary

This week the Director of Housing and Finance Agency requested the largest mortgage guarantors in the US (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), consider people's digital assets as part of their savings when purchasing a house. Aligning with Trump's Bitcoin & Crypto Capital of the world vision for the US.

In addition, Texas became the third US state to sign a Strategic Reserve bill that will allow the state treasury to invest directly into digital assets. Currently, only bitcoin meets the criteria required (US $500 billion market cap for a continuous 12 month period).

XRP also had a small 3% jump up, but not for the reasons most would expect. The CEO of Ripple (issuer of XRP token), Brad Garlinghouse, announcing that he would drop the appeal against the SEC regarding the US $125 million fine for issuing unregistered securities. It would appear most XRP investors are happy to move on, rather than dragging out the legal case further.

Lastly, we think its worthy of note that the DXY (pronounced dixy) which is a measure of the US dollars strength against 6 other major currencies, recently hit a 3-year low. Often, when the dollars strength declines, markets rally as countries with US denominated debts are able to reduce the relative amount of local currency expenditure on debt repayments, and invest more. We think this is a bullish set-up for markets in the coming months, particularly for the digital asset market.

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Key Stories This Week

Regulator Asks Biggest US Mortgage Issuers To Consider Crypto As Collateral

Earlier this week, William Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency asked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee half of the US $12 trillion mortgage market, to consider crypto assets as savings in single-family mortgage risk assessments.

This landmark move could increase the opportunity of home ownership for access for more than 65 million American crypto holders.

In addition, our team recently conducted a bitcoin-backed loan, borrowing 50% in cash against bitcoin held, without having to sell the bitcoin.

If this type of product would interest you, we'd love to hear from you.

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Ripple Drop Their Appeal, Accept US $125M Penalty

On 26 June 2025, US District Court Judge Analisa Torres denied a joint motion by Ripple and the SEC to reduce a US $125 million penalty and reverse an order classifying XRP sales to institutional investors as securities transactions.

In response, Ripple and the SEC have dropped their appeals to reduce the sentence and US $125 million fine, choosing to accept the verdict and move on.

Ironically, XRP's price rose 3% on the news as CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated on X: “We’re closing this chapter once and for all and focusing on what’s most important – building the internet of Value. Lock in,”.

Ripple’s decision to drop the appeal was expected, as the ongoing legal fights are not only expensive, but also hurt the blockchain's appeal to large financial companies and central banks, target clients of its infrastructure.

XRP’s price has been range bound around the US $2.10 since March.

We are not currently adding to positions in XRP.

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Texas Signs Bitcoin & Crypto Strategic Reserve, Becomes 3rd U.S. State To Do So

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21 into law, creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve, making Texas the third US state after New Hampshire and Arizona to adopt such a measure.

The reserve allows investment in Bitcoin and other high-market-cap cryptocurrencies, signaling growing state-level crypto adoption.

In order to be considered for the investment, the cryptocurrency must have a market capitalisation of at least US $500 billion for a continuous 12-month period.

Currently, only bitcoin meets and exceeds this criteria (~ US $2 trillion) with Ethereum (~ US $269 billion) a distant second.

Illinois, Masachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Rhode Island are 5 other states who are currently evaluating both bitcoin and cryptocurrency strategic reserves for their state treasuries.

You can track the legislative progress at Bitcoin Laws.

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Until next week,
James

James Brannan
Managing Director
BlockByte
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​james@blockbyte.com.au​
​https://blockbyte.com.au/​

BlockByte does not provide financial advice. We provide a personalised brokerage service with tailored support, research and secure custody for investing in digital assets. Reach out to our team to discuss how we can help.