Better and Coinbase have opened their bitcoin-backed mortgage to the general public, and Better told CoinDesk that pre-applications have already reached $360 million in requested loan volume since the rollout, above the $260 million it projected from an earlier waitlist. The product lets homebuyers pledge bitcoin to fund a cash down payment without selling their holdings, but it comes with a notable condition: Better can rehypothecate the pledged bitcoin, and borrowers cannot recover their crypto until the primary mortgage is fully repaid or refinanced, according to CoinDesk’s September 6 report.