Crypto VC Framework Ventures to take $45 million stake in Better.com as mortgage issuer plans to launch ’Home Token’

A crypto investor is helping a publicly traded mortgage issuer dive into DeFi, or decentralized finance. Better.com announced on Monday that Framework Ventures has struck a deal to buy 10% of its stock, worth about $45 million at current prices. The move comes as Better.com plans to dive into tokenization, or the act of putting non-crypto assets like stocks in blockchain wrappers, and as the company plans to issue a token backed by $500 million worth of mortgages and other loans.

The planned mortgage tokens, which propose to grant yield to their holders, will at first be available just for accredited investors. But Better.com plans to expand access to a broader set of participants. “We’re going to be issuing these, and then we’re figuring out, ‘How do we get this in the hands of consumers?’” said Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better.com, in an interview. 

Garg declined to say when the tokens will go live or what the tokens will be called. One possible name for the retail-focused cryptocurrency is “Home Token,” said a person familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity to disclose nonpublic information. 

Removing intermediaries

The move from Better.com, which planned to go public at a $7.7 billion valuation in 2021, comes as the company combats a flagging stock price. The mortgage issuer brands ...