Block Earner Disrupts Aussie Market With Pioneering Bitcoin-Backed Home Loans
Down Under just got a crypto-powered housing shakeup. Melbourne-based Block Earner slashes through traditional mortgage red tape with Australia's first Bitcoin-collateralized home loan product—no banks, no credit checks, just pure orange-pilled innovation.
How it works: Hodlers unlock home equity without selling their BTC. The platform accepts Bitcoin as sole collateral, converting volatility risk into fixed-rate AUD loans. Finally—a use case for your diamond hands beyond Twitter flexes.
The fine print? Loan-to-value ratios hover at conservative levels (50-60%), protecting both lenders and moon-bound borrowers. Perfect for crypto natives tired of explaining their CoinGecko portfolio to mortgage brokers.
One catch: When BTC dips 30% in a day, margin calls hit harder than a Sydney hailstorm. But hey—at least it's not another stablecoin-backed real estate play destined for regulatory purgatory.
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.
