Crypto rewards eye renters who want to save for a down payment

Texas-based Megatel Homes‘ affiliate and subsidiary, MegPrime, announced it has launched a new crypto-rent-payment rewards program to help renters save for a down payment on a home.

As crypto gains wider adoption across finance and capital investment, housing’s longstanding rent-to-own models enter a new proptech-powered chapter.

Users who pay rent through the MegPrime app can receive hundreds of dollars a month back in rewards in the form of MegPrime tokens (MP tokens), MegPrime’s new cryptocurrency. 

Zach Ipour, CEO and co-founder of Megatel Homes, told HousingWire’s The Builder’s Daily that the crypto rewards program will roll out nationally. MegPrime received a No-Action Letter from the SEC in January, which granted the company permission to begin operating the MP token and MegPrime platform. 

Since then, over 10,000 people have reached out to express their interest in using the MegPrime platform. 

How the rewards program works

For renters, the MegPrime platform offers users the opportunity to earn money back every month on their rent payments. Anybody can receive 2% of their rent payments back a month on any property as long as those payments are made using the MP token. 

However, the rewards get higher for renters living in “max rewards properties”. These are rental communities, primarily multifamily, that have entered into an agreement with MegPrime. 

Landlords that partner with MegPrime agree to have their vacant units advertised on the MegPrime platform, and in exchange, offer monthly rental incentives on three tiers – 10%, 15% and 20%. For renters paying $1,500 a month in rent, that amounts to $150 to $300 in rewards per month. 

Roughly 200,000 units are already part of MegPrime’s max rewards properties program. Ipour says the MegPrime team has national ambitions for its program, but the max rewards units are predominantly located in the Sun Belt and Mountain West as of now, with Texas, Florida and Colorado accounting for most of that concentration. 

“The source of the reward is fully funded with the marketing budget that is contributed by the developers, the property owners and all the other participating parties,” Ipour said. “We provide information through our website for the apartments that are near our users who are looking to rent, and they sign a contract for those apartments using MegPrime as the apartment locator of record.”

The monthly rewards aren’t exclusively for a down payment. Users can apply the money to any everyday expense, but the program is designed to help renters save gradually for a future home down payment.

“For the renters, they will receive a reward back for something that they’re already paying for. It is also a great thing for the property owners, who will increase their occupancy,” Ipour argued.

Renters who adopt MegPrime’s app are eligible to receive up to $12,000 in cash or as a down payment on any new home in the United States. There are no restrictions on where a renter can buy, which differentiates MegPrime from other available rent-to-own programs. 

MegPrime is also testing out the MegPrime Homebuying Advantage Plan, which launched in April 2026. The program allows homebuyers to receive rewards on their housing payments while their new home is under construction. 

“We are currently trying it on Megatel customers, and trying to get decent feedback on that with all of the testimonials that we are gathering. We will launch it to the public again in the next several months,” Ipour explained. 

A growing affordability crisis

For Megatel Homes, launching MegPrime is a strategic step to stand out amid the growing housing affordability crisis. The median home sales price during the first quarter of 2026 was $403,200, a 22.5% increase from $329,000 during the same period in 2020. 

A new poll from the Bipartisan Policy Center found that housing is the biggest expense for 78% of Americans, including 88% under the age of 45. According to the poll, nearly 90% of Americans say that it is harder to buy a house now than it has ever been before. 

“In this unprecedented moment when the affordability crisis is as high as it’s ever been in the country, programs like this can hopefully solve that issue – to a certain point,” Ipour said.