Crypto Lending Firm Ledn Offers Low-Risk Custodied Loans

Cryptocurrency lending company Ledn is offering customers crypto-backed loans where all the assets remain locked up with a qualified custodian, as the company adapts its centralized finance approach to a post-FTX world.

Ledn has done a brisk trade in standard loans to date, where bitcoin (BTC) posted as collateral can be further lent out to subsidize the loan. The firm has processed some $635 million of retail loans backed by Bitcoin, and over $4 billion on the institutional side.

Last year’s meltdown of non-transparent crypto companies has brought a de-risk reckoning to the digital asset space. Ledn, which managed to avoid client losing any money amid the collapse of firms like FTX, is charging a slightly higher rate for its new range of Custodied Loans, which typically involve crypto pledged as collateral being held at BitGo.

“The collateral must be held in custody, and that will always be a qualified custodian, whether that is with BitGo, or one of our banking or credit fund partners,” said Ledn co-founder Mauricio Di Bartolomeo in an interview. “This is the first time this type of loan, which is done through a centralized entity that can offer 24 hour disbursements, is being offered outside the U.S. to international customers.”

CORRECTION (December 6, 2023, 15:56 UTC): Changes figure from $4 billion to $5 billion.