Bacon Protocol on Tuesday launched a decentralized mortgage platform that allows crypto holders direct access to the mortgage investment market via a new stablecoin backed by USD Coin (USDC) and home loans.
Bacon also stated on Tuesday that it will perform a public sale of the bHome token, which is characterized as a Stable+ Coin that is backed “dollar for dollar” by USDC, liens, and loans on properties in the United States. Early buyers will be eligible for additional benefits in the form of the BACON governance token.
The Bacon Protocol works by allowing homeowners to trade a lien on their home for a nonfungible token, or NFT, that represents a percentage of the home they bought.
The NFT provides buyers with collateral in order to gain access to other crypto markets, such as decentralized finance (DeFi). LoanSnap, a financial services startup backed by Virgin that helps American homebuyers save on interest rates and other associated costs, will initially handle the entire transaction.
The mortgage market in the United States is a complex ecology that includes banks, firms, governments, and borrowers. The total value of all home mortgages in the United States was predicted to exceed $11 trillion in 2019.
Despite historically low-interest rates, the market draws large investors looking to collect mortgage and lien interest payments.
Each year, it is estimated that banks, corporations, and governments purchase approximately $2 trillion in mortgages. Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet contained nearly $2.5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities.
While some mortgage lenders have expressed interest in accepting bitcoin payments, the industry has so far remained mostly outside of DeFi’s purview. As new inventions continue to cross the gap between these two realms, this could soon alter.
Bacon Protocol backers, such as Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers startup fund, believe that blockchain technology can bring mortgage investments to a wider audience. Major banks currently earn billions of dollars in interest on their mortgage assets each year.
