Crypto Loans HQ
info@cryptoloanshq.com

Crypto-backed loans

Crypto-backed loans against bitcoin, ether and ETF shares

How the loan is built, who lends against crypto, how structures differ on custody and term, and what a lender needs from a borrower of US$100,000 or more.
By Crypto Loans HQ Published Last reviewed

A crypto-backed loan is a collateralized loan of US dollars or stablecoins secured on bitcoin, ether or spot bitcoin ETF shares that you pledge instead of selling. It is not an unsecured loan, and it is not crypto lending in the other sense of depositing coins with a platform that lends them on. The lender holds the collateral and can sell it if its value falls.

Key takeaways

  • Sized by loan-to-value. Starting LTVs lenders published in September 2026 ran between 20% and 75%, most often 50%. Margin calls began between 65% (Xapo Bank's top-up demand) and 85% (Figure, on loans written at 75% initial LTV), and liquidation at 80% to about 91%.
  • Custody decides what happens in a failure. Collateral a lender may re-use can end up in its bankruptcy estate, as objecting retail borrowers' collateral did in Celsius (ruling of 9 November 2023).
  • Three custody models dominate. Lender custody with re-use rights, segregated custody with no rehypothecation stated, and 2-of-3 multisig in which the borrower holds a key.
  • Every term is the lender's. We introduce enquiries of US$100,000 or more. The lender sets the LTV, rate, term and custody, and runs its own identity and anti-money-laundering checks.

How a crypto-backed loan works

You pledge collateral and the lender advances a loan worth a fraction of it. That fraction is the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio: the loan balance divided by the current market value of the collateral. At a 50% LTV you pledge US$2 of bitcoin or ether for every US$1 borrowed.

Above the starting LTV the loan documents set a ladder of thresholds. At the first the lender warns you. At the margin-call level it asks you to bring the LTV back down, by adding collateral or repaying part of the loan, within a stated window: Arch and Unchained published 24 hours, Figure 48 hours. At the liquidation level the lender sells collateral without waiting.

Liquidation takes two forms. Some lenders sell only enough to bring the LTV to a target (Arch, SALT); others sell enough to repay the balance and return what is left (Ledn, Xapo Bank, Unchained after foreclosure). Costs differ too: Ledn applies a 0.50% trade spread, and Figure a 2% processing fee on crypto sold, where allowed. Where interest accrues into the balance, the LTV rises while prices stand still.

Definition

Margin call. A lender's demand, when the LTV crosses a threshold in the loan documents, that you add collateral or repay part of the loan. The cure target is often the starting LTV, not the trigger: Figure cures back to the initial LTV, Arch to 60%.

Who lends against crypto

Lenders in this market fall into five broad groups. The firms named below are examples described only from what each publishes, accessed September 2026. The list is not a ranking, it is not a panel, and naming a firm implies no relationship with Crypto Loans HQ; how we are paid is disclosed separately.

  • Specialist crypto lenders. Ledn lends against bitcoin only, with a 50% typical starting LTV and a 12-month term. SALT offers 30%, 50% or 70% LTV options over one, three or five years. Arch lends US dollars or USDC against bitcoin and ether, among other assets, for one to 12 months. Figure lends US dollars against the same assets on a 12-month interest-only term. Milo lends against bitcoin or ether if you pledge twice the loan.
  • A bank. Xapo Bank lends US dollars against bitcoin for 30 or 365 days, with starting LTV options of 20%, 30% or 40%.
  • Institutional desks. Galaxy's lending desk serves qualifying institutions, accredited individuals and corporations; on 25 August 2026 Galaxy announced a GalaxyOne line of credit against bitcoin, ether and other assets at a 50% origination LTV, offered in 40 US states. Two Prime describes over-collateralized bitcoin-backed loans for institutional borrowers.
  • Multisig lenders. Unchained lends only to businesses, with a US$150,000 minimum, against bitcoin held in a 2-of-3 multisig in which the borrower holds one key.
  • Onchain protocols. Morpho's documentation says a position becomes liquidatable once its LTV exceeds the market's liquidation LTV, and that anyone who spots an eligible position can liquidate it.

Corporate facilities run far larger: on 4 August 2026 MARA Holdings pledged 18,750 bitcoin to secure term loans from Coinbase Credit and Two Prime Lending, according to its quarterly report. See bitcoin treasury financing, and crypto financing for term loans, revolving lines and corporate facilities compared side by side.

Loan structures compared

Two loans at the same LTV can behave very differently in a falling market, or in a lender failure. The first compares custody models, the second currency and term. Neither covers the pledged-collateral bitcoin mortgage.

Custody models for crypto collateral
Model Who can move the collateral Re-use, as published What you can check Published examples
Lender custody, re-use permitted The lender Permitted by the contract: pledge, re-pledge, lend or sell Only what the lender reports Celsius's retail loan terms, as quoted by the bankruptcy court (2023)
Custody with limited re-use The lender, through its custodian Only to named funding partners or financing vehicles; not lent out The re-use clause; proof-of-reserves attestations Ledn (custodied loans)
Segregated custody, custodian named A custodian the lender names, on its instruction Stated not to occur The custodian's name; whether the account is segregated Arch (Anchorage Digital), Milo (Coinbase and BitGo)
Segregated custody, custodian unnamed An unnamed custodian, on the lender's instruction Stated not to occur Only the wording of the custody clause Figure (“our qualified custodian”), SALT (“qualified institutional custodians”)
Bank-held The bank that made the loan “No rehypothecation of Bitcoin” The bank's own published terms Xapo Bank
2-of-3 multisig Any two of borrower, lender and a key agent Stated not to occur; no single party can move coins The collateral address, onchain Unchained (business loans)
Onchain protocol A smart contract; bitcoin may first be wrapped Governed by the protocol's code The contract, the price oracle and any token issuer Morpho markets (liquidation at a fixed liquidation LTV)
From each firm's own pages, accessed 19 September 2026, and the Celsius opinion of 9 November 2023. Custody statements are the firms' own descriptions, not legal conclusions; terms are set only by the lender.
Currency and term structures lenders publish
Feature Options published (September 2026) What it changes for you
Currency of proceeds US dollars by wire; USDC (Arch, Galaxy, Ledn); local currency in some jurisdictions (Ledn) Stablecoin proceeds must be converted if you need dollars in a bank account, and add the stablecoin issuer as a counterparty
Fixed term, interest-only 12 months (Ledn standard term, Figure, Unchained's 12 payments); one, three or five years (SALT) Principal falls due at maturity, so the repayment or refinance has to be planned; Ledn requires LTV below 65% to renew
Short term 30 or 365 days (Xapo Bank); one to 12 months (Arch) More frequent refinancing, each time at the market price of the collateral
Open-ended or revolving line Nexo Credit Line ("open once, repay anytime"); GalaxyOne open-term revolving line No maturity date, but the LTV thresholds are tested every day the line is drawn
Interest payment Monthly interest-only (Unchained, Milo, Galaxy); accrued to maturity (Arch, Ledn); monthly or deferred (Figure) Deferred or accrued interest raises the balance, and with it the LTV
Liquidation style Partial, to restore a target LTV (Arch, SALT, Nexo); sale to repay the balance (Ledn, Xapo Bank, Unchained after foreclosure) How much of your collateral is sold in a single fall
From each lender's own pages, accessed 19 September 2026 (sources below). Ranges lenders published as of September 2026; terms depend on the lender, the collateral and the borrower, and are set only by the lender.

Bitcoin, ether and ETF shares as collateral

Every lender named here accepts bitcoin. Ether is narrower: Figure, Arch, SALT, Milo, Nexo and the GalaxyOne line accept it, while Ledn, Unchained and Xapo Bank lend only against bitcoin (published terms, September 2026). Where both are accepted, check whether the thresholds differ by asset. Borrow against Ethereum covers ether collateral, and bitcoin-backed loans sets out the bitcoin terms lender by lender.

Spot bitcoin and ether ETF shares are securities held at a broker, not coins in a wallet. The SEC approved listing spot bitcoin exchange-traded products on 10 January 2024 and spot ether products on 23 May 2024. Borrowing against them runs through a broker's margin account or a securities-backed line of credit, which FINRA describes as demand loans callable at any time. A separate guide to securities-backed lending covers that route, and bitcoin OTC covers selling at this size instead.

Risk

Risks to weigh before borrowing

  • Margin calls and forced liquidation. A fall in the collateral's price raises the LTV. From a 50% start, a 28.6% fall reaches 70% and a 37.5% fall reaches 80%, levels at which lenders published margin calls and liquidations. The cure windows published are 24 to 48 hours, and a fast fall can reach the liquidation level before you act.
  • Counterparty and custody risk. If the loan terms let the lender re-use your collateral and the lender becomes insolvent, you may be left with a creditor's claim instead of your coins. The failures of Celsius, BlockFi, Genesis and Voyager in 2022 and 2023 turned on contract terms and segregation (see below).
  • Tax on a liquidation. A liquidation is a sale of your collateral, and a sale is generally a taxable event, at a price and time you did not choose. In many jurisdictions the loan itself is not a disposal, but some structures that transfer ownership of the collateral can be. Take advice from a tax adviser.
  • Refinancing at maturity. Principal falls due at the end of the term. If the collateral has fallen, a lender may decline to renew, or renew only at a lower LTV, leaving you to repay in cash or sell.

The mechanics are covered in bitcoin loan margin calls and bitcoin loan rehypothecation; tax in are crypto loans taxable.

What happened when lenders failed

Celsius Network filed for Chapter 11 on 13 July 2022. On 4 January 2023 the court held that assets in its Earn accounts, about US$4.2 billion across some 600,000 accounts, had become Celsius's property, leaving the Borrow program open. On 9 November 2023 it decided that too: collateral transferred by retail borrowers who objected to the plan was property of the estate, under loan terms that let Celsius pledge, rehypothecate, sell or lend it.

BlockFi filed in November 2022, months after the SEC found it had made a false and misleading statement about the risk in its loan portfolio. Genesis Global Capital, an institutional crypto lender, filed on 19 January 2023. Voyager Digital filed in July 2022, its filings describing customer crypto held in a commingled wallet. In each case, what customers got back turned on the contract terms and on segregation. That describes these cases and predicts nothing about any current lender; custody and rehypothecation has the clauses to read.

What an enquiry needs

You do not need documents to make an enquiry. To check it against lenders' published criteria, we need:

  • The collateral: the asset (bitcoin, ether or ETF shares), the approximate amount, and where it is held now, whether on an exchange, in self-custody or at a broker.
  • The loan: the amount in US dollars (the working minimum is US$100,000), the currency you want to receive, the term, and what the money is for. Some lenders ask for a minimum principal or confirmation of a commercial purpose in some locations.
  • The borrower: individual, company, trust, fund or estate, and the country of residence or establishment.
  • Custody requirements: whether you need segregated custody, a no-rehypothecation clause or a multisig structure.

Once introduced, expect the lender to verify identity, source of funds and wealth, and, for an entity, who owns and controls it. Nothing is shared with a lender without your consent. See how it works and who we work with.

General information, not advice. This page describes crypto-backed loans in general terms. It is not an offer to lend or to arrange a loan on particular terms, and it is not investment, legal or tax advice. Firms are named only to describe what they published, as dated; naming a firm is not a recommendation and implies no relationship with Crypto Loans HQ. Terms are set only by the lender. Take advice from a qualified tax adviser before borrowing against, or selling, a crypto asset. How we are paid.

Primary sources

Crypto-backed loans: frequently asked questions

Do stablecoins and spot ETF shares get a different LTV from bitcoin?

Yes. Nexo's credit line page publishes maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 50% for bitcoin and ether and 90% for USDT and USDC (Nexo, accessed September 2026), because a stablecoin does not move against the dollar the loan is in. Spot ETF shares are different: securities at a broker, so a margin account's rules apply rather than a crypto lender's band.

What is the difference between a crypto-backed loan and crypto lending?

In a crypto-backed loan you borrow US dollars or stablecoins and pledge crypto as collateral. Crypto lending is also used for the opposite arrangement: depositing crypto with a platform that lends it on and pays you a return. Crypto Loans HQ deals only with borrowing against crypto, never with lending crypto out.

Can the lender use my collateral?

Only if the loan terms allow it. Some lenders publish that collateral is never rehypothecated, some allow limited re-use (Ledn states that custodied collateral may be re-posted only to a US dollar funding partner or a Ledn-sponsored financing vehicle), and multisig lenders structure the loan so that no single party can move the coins. Read the custody clause before you sign.

Can a company or trust borrow against crypto?

Yes. Several lenders publish terms for businesses and trusts. Unchained, for example, lends only to businesses, with a US$150,000 minimum, and routes financing of US$5 million or more to an institutional lending desk. Entity borrowers go through business verification, which includes identifying the people who own and control the entity.

Loan enquiries

Borrowing US$100,000 or more against crypto?

Tell us the collateral, the amount and the custody terms you need. We check the enquiry against the criteria lenders publish and, where a lender's criteria fit, arrange an introduction. The lender sets the terms and runs its own checks.

Start a loan enquiry Check eligibility