Who runs this site
Bitcoin Lending Intel is written and maintained by me, Abel Stines. I've been in Bitcoin since 2016, and I built this site because comparing Bitcoin-backed loans meant wading through a dozen lenders' fine print, each formatted differently and none of it neutral. I do the verification work myself — reading each lender's own published terms and recording what they actually say, not what their marketing implies.
I'm not a financial adviser, and nothing here is financial, investment, or tax advice. What I can offer is a single, consistently-formatted, independently-checked view of who lends against Bitcoin and on what terms — so you can make your own decision with the real numbers in front of you.
Independence & how we're funded
If that ever changes — for example if some outbound links become affiliate links in future — I'll disclose it clearly here and on the pages where it applies, and it will never change a lender's risk score or where it sits in a ranking. The data comes first; monetisation, if any, sits on top of it and never bends it.
One personal disclosure: I'm an active Ledn customer and use the product myself. It's noted on Ledn's review page too. It gives me first-hand insight, but it does not affect Ledn's rating or placement — Ledn is scored on the same methodology as every other lender, and I have no affiliate or paid relationship with them.
How we verify the data
Every figure in the lender table — rate, maximum LTV, liquidation threshold, term, fees, custody model, collateral type, and minimum — is taken from the lender's own published terms, rates page, or FAQ, with a source link on every row pointing to where it came from. The process:
- Primary sources only. Numbers come from the lender's own site, not third-party aggregators or press coverage.
- Entry-level terms. Unless noted, figures reflect the standard published terms a typical borrower would see, not a best-case rate that requires a huge loan or holding the lender's token.
- Ranges where ranges exist. Many lenders price by loan size or tier; where that's the case the table shows the range and the source link lets you confirm the rate for your situation.
- Re-checked regularly. The table carries a "verified" date. Live Bitcoin price is pulled from CoinGecko and refreshed automatically; lender terms are re-verified manually.
- Honest about gaps. Where a lender doesn't publish a number (some don't publish a rate ceiling or a fixed liquidation level), it's marked as such rather than guessed.
For the mechanics behind these terms, see the Bitcoin-backed loan guide; for how to weigh them against each other, see how to compare lenders.
How the risk score is calculated
Each lender carries an editorial risk rating — Lower Medium Higher — reflecting the risk to your collateral and counterparty, not how good the rate is. It's a judgement, not a formula, but it's a consistent one, based on four factors:
1. Custody & rehypothecation
How is your Bitcoin held — segregated, with a qualified custodian, in collaborative multisig where you hold a key, or in a non-custodial smart contract — and can it be lent out (rehypothecated) to third parties? Rehypothecation is the single biggest red flag; it's what sank several lenders in 2022.
2. Track record & transparency
How long has the lender operated, has it come through a bear market intact, and does it publish proof-of-reserves, audits, or regulatory registration? Opacity on these points raises the score.
3. Liquidation & operational risk
How aggressive and automated is liquidation, how much warning do you get, and is the rate fixed or variable? Thin buffers and very high allowed LTVs increase risk.
4. Collateral type
Native Bitcoin held on the Bitcoin network is the baseline. Tokenized/wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC, cbBTC) used by DeFi protocols adds smart-contract and bridge/wrapper risk on top of the loan itself.
In short: Lower means strong custody, no rehypothecation, a solid track record, and native Bitcoin. Medium means either a non-custodial DeFi protocol (low counterparty risk but smart-contract and tokenized-BTC risk) or a custodial lender with shorter history, less transparency, or aggressive LTV options. Higher means rehypothecation, poor transparency, weak controls, or very high LTV. We list a Higher-rated lender only with an explicit warning — currently YouHodler, for its 90–97% LTV, fully custodial model, and limited public disclosure on rehypothecation and segregation. These labels rank lenders relative to each other — they are not a safety rating, and no Bitcoin-backed loan is risk-free.
Risk score, lender by lender
The compact breakdown below shows why each lender sits where it does. "Rehypo?" = whether collateral can be lent out.
| Lender | Custody | Rehypo? | Collateral | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strike | Segregated | No | Native BTC | Lower | Bitcoin-only, licensed money transmitter (incl. NYDFS), segregated custody, zero fees, generous buffer. licenses ↗ |
| Ledn | Custodied, ring-fenced | No | Native BTC | Lower | Operating since 2018; came through the 2022 lender crisis intact (unlike Celsius and BlockFi). Bi-annual proof-of-reserves attestations plus monthly loan-book reports; states SOC 2 Type 2. proof of reserves ↗ |
| Unchained | Multisig (you hold a key) | No | Native BTC | Lower | Collaborative 2-of-3 multisig — you hold two keys, Unchained one, so no single party can move the Bitcoin alone. Strongest custody model on the list. custody model ↗ |
| Xapo Bank | Regulated bank vaults | No | Native BTC | Lower | Licensed Gibraltar bank (GFSC credit institution, Permission 23171; deposits covered by the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme), MPC vaults, conservative 40% max LTV. GFSC entry ↗ |
| Arch | Anchorage (qualified) | No | Native BTC | Medium | Excellent custody (chartered custodian, insured), but a newer, smaller operator — short track record caps it at MED. |
| SALT | Segregated (Fireblocks) | No | Native BTC | Medium | Segregated custody, but it paused deposits and withdrawals in Nov 2022 amid FTX contagion (its CA financing licence was suspended pending investigation; it recapitalized in 2023) and runs a high (≈91%) liquidation threshold. 2022 record ↗ |
| Nexo | Custodial (third parties) | Not disclosed | Native BTC | Medium | Does not publicly address rehypothecation or per-client segregation, and rate tiers/ceiling are unpublished. Opacity caps it at MED. |
| CoinRabbit | Custodial cold storage | No (claimed) | Native BTC | Medium | Smaller, less-audited operator offering very high LTV (up to 90%); operational risk caps it at MED. |
| Morpho | Non-custodial | No | Tokenized (WBTC/cbBTC) | Medium | No counterparty holds your coins, but you take on smart-contract risk, variable rates, and tokenized-BTC risk. |
| Compound | Non-custodial | No | Tokenized (WBTC/cbBTC) | Medium | Established DeFi protocol; same smart-contract and tokenized-BTC exposure as other on-chain markets. |
| Coinbase | Non-custodial (via Morpho) | No | Tokenized (cbBTC) | Medium | Large regulated front-end, but your BTC is converted to cbBTC and locked in a smart contract on Base. |
| Aave v3 | Non-custodial | No | Tokenized (WBTC/cbBTC) | Medium | Blue-chip DeFi with conservative parameters; smart-contract and tokenized-BTC risk keep it at MED. |
Risk scores are editorial judgements about counterparty and collateral risk, not a guarantee of safety or a rating of any lender's solvency. Do your own due diligence before borrowing.
Corrections & contact
If you spot a figure that's out of date or wrong, please tell me — accuracy is the entire point of this site. Email [email protected]. I'll check it against the lender's current terms and, if it needs fixing, correct it (usually within a few days) and log the change in the update history below. Lenders are welcome to flag inaccuracies the same way.
Update history
- 29 Jun 2026Published the Bitcoin Loan Rate Index — a citable, embeddable live reading of the lowest verified Bitcoin-backed loan rate. Added Terms of Use, Privacy, and Disclosure pages.
- 26–27 Jun 2026Published guides on borrowing without selling, Bitcoin loan tax treatment, loans for miners, liquidation, and low-LTV picks, plus a free liquidation-alert tool. Logged Lantern's new 2% upfront fee.
- 25 Jun 2026Added Figure, APX Lending, Lantern, and YouHodler to the table, bringing it to 16 verified lenders. Relabelled risk tiers (Lower/Medium/Higher), added cited primary sources to each lender's safety section, and improved keyboard accessibility.
- 24 Jun 2026Re-verified all 12 lenders then in the table against their own published terms. Corrected Strike's minimum (now ~$10K) and liquidation level, Ledn's tiered rate, and SALT, Arch, Aave, and Compound figures. Source links updated to each lender's exact rates page. Published "Ledn vs Strike" and "Best loans for $100,000," added homepage structured data, and standardised navigation. Published this About & editorial standards page.
- 22 Jun 2026Added Xapo Bank and CoinRabbit to the table. Published the "how to compare lenders" guide, sitemap, and search-engine verification.
- June 2026Launched the redesigned dashboard: live Bitcoin price, loan and liquidation-price calculators, side-by-side comparison tool, and the verified lender table.