Using Bitcoin to Buy a House

Home buying is a stressful enough situation without adding the challenge of proving where your money comes from! For those in the US, I have an experience that I thought would be worthwhile sharing.

In purchasing a house, I used proceeds from Coinbase towards our downpayment and deposited the funds in my checking account. This occurred within the 2-month 'seasoning' period and I therefore needed to provide evidence to the Underwriter that these funds were sourced correctly - that I was the owner. Obviously, given the hoops you have to jump through to create an account, this was not a concern but being able to prove it turned out to be a challenge.

The problem: Coinbase does not issue a monthly statement (with letterhead) and screenshots or downloads of your transaction log are not acceptable to an Underwriter.

The solution: I reached out to Coinbase support (and after much badgering as I know they are overwhelmed right now), they have a report they can issue their official letterhead that was acceptable to the Underwriter.

I really hope Coinbase adds the ability to download such report to their site as I'm sure this must come up.

Of course, the best option is to liquidate your funds more than two full statements in advance to show that your money is 'seasoned'.