Cryptocurrency · Infrastructure · Comparison
Borrowing against Bitcoin instead of selling it is the single most consequential piece of financial infrastructure for a long-term holder: it turns a coin you refuse to part with into spendable liquidity without triggering a taxable disposal. Three names dominate the conversation for serious holders — Ledn, Strike, and Unchained — and in 2026 they no longer do the same thing. Here is how they actually differ, verified against each lender’s own site. A fourth name, Xapo Bank, is compared against Ledn separately below.
Why borrow against Bitcoin at all
The logic is the same one that has always underwritten great fortunes: never sell the appreciating asset if you can borrow against it instead. Selling Bitcoin to fund a purchase does two damaging things at once — it ends your exposure to an asset you presumably hold because you expect it to keep appreciating, and, in the United States, it triggers a capital-gains disposal on every dollar it has climbed since you bought it. A loan against the same coins sidesteps both. You keep the upside, you keep the coins for the step-up in basis that makes them so efficient to pass to your heirs, and you get spendable liquidity today. The only questions that matter are the rate, what happens if the price falls, and — most important for a large holder — who is holding your Bitcoin while the loan is outstanding.
On those questions, the three leading names have genuinely diverged in 2026.
Ledn — the individual’s default
Ledn is, for most individual borrowers, the sensible starting point. Read at source on 8 September 2026: more than USD 11 billion originated since 2018, and a custody model Ledn states plainly — collateral “may only be re-posted by Ledn to a trusted institutional USD funding partner”, held with a qualified independent custodian in segregated on-chain addresses that are legally ring-fenced from that partner’s estate, with a monthly Open Book Report published against assets and liabilities. On its Custodied product, neither Ledn, the funding partner, nor the financing vehicle has the right to lend the collateral out for yield. This publication previously described that arrangement as collateral being “not rehypothecated”; that was wrong and is withdrawn below. Terms run twelve months with no monthly payments and no credit check. The published mechanics are a 50% starting loan-to-value, a 70% margin call, and 80% liquidation — so a borrower who draws conservatively at, say, 25–35% LTV has substantial room before a falling price becomes a problem.
One honesty note we have made before and repeat here: Ledn publishes several different entry rates across its own site — a homepage range around 9.25%–11.49% APR, with different figures on the calculator, the FAQ, and the Private Wealth table. Treat any published rate as an advertisement, not a quote, and obtain your terms in writing. Our full write-up is the Ledn guide.
Strike — the volatility-proof newcomer
Note added 8 September 2026. strike.me/lending was re-read rendered on this date. The page describes margin calls and liquidations directly, and offers a no maturity date structure rather than the six-month term described below; it publishes neither a rate nor a minimum. The characterisations of “no price liquidation” and a six-month term are accordingly withdrawn and appear in the Correction Log. We do not assert that Strike has discontinued a volatility-proof product — we assert only that we could not find that configuration published today, which is a statement about what is on the page and not about what Strike offers. A plain fetch of this domain returns HTTP 403 from Cloudflare and is evidence of nothing in either direction.
Strike spent 2026 rethinking the part of a bitcoin loan that everyone fears: the forced liquidation. In July 2026 it launched a volatility-proof loan that removes price-triggered liquidation altogether — the loan cannot be called on a falling Bitcoin price so long as you keep making your payments. The trade-offs are explicit: the term is six months rather than twelve, the initial LTV is capped at 45%, and the rate carries roughly a 2.95% premium, landing the volatility-proof product around 10.44%–14.2% APR. Strike’s standard loans price from about 10.5% APR under $250,000 down to roughly 7.49% APR above $5 million, and the company says a $2.1 billion credit facility backs its capacity at any order size.
Two caveats. First, availability: the volatility-proof product currently excludes California, New York, and Texas under Strike’s terms, so a large share of US holders cannot yet use it. Second, “volatility-proof” is not “risk-proof” — miss the payments and the collateral is still forfeit; the innovation removes price as a trigger, not your obligations. For an eligible US borrower who wants to sleep through a drawdown without a margin call, it is the most interesting product on the board.
Unchained — now commercial-only, but you hold the keys
Unchained occupies a different tier in 2026, and it is important to be precise about it, because a great deal of older coverage still describes Unchained as a general-purpose lender for individuals. It is not, any more. Unchained lending is now commercial-only, with a $150,000 minimum — individuals seeking a personal bitcoin-backed loan are now Ledn’s or Strike’s customer, not Unchained’s. What Unchained offers that neither of the others can is custody transparency: loans are structured against a 2-of-3 multisignature vault in which the client holds two of the three keys, so your collateral never leaves a wallet you can watch on-chain, and it cannot be rehypothecated because Unchained cannot move it alone. The track record it publishes — over $1 billion and 1,000+ loans with zero bitcoin lost — is the argument for that model. As with Ledn, Unchained publishes more than one rate for the same loan (its pricing page and its own calculator disagree, roughly 12–14% versus 14–16% APR), so again: get the number in writing. The custody design is covered in our collaborative custody guide.
Head to head
Every cell below was read from the lender’s own website on 8 September 2026 and says only what that lender publishes. Where a figure is not published, the cell says so rather than estimating one. Three cells in the previous version of this table have been withdrawn; the reasons are set out beneath it.
| Ledn | Strike | Unchained | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning, as published | Individual borrowers; the broadest geographic access of the three | US borrowers wanting a single APR and no ancillary fees | Commercial borrowers and large holders who will not surrender key control |
| Published minimum | USD 500 | Not published on the lending page | USD 150,000 |
| Published rate | Loans page tiers: 11.49% APR below USD 250,000; 10.99% at 250,000+; 10.49% at 500,000+; 9.99% at 1,000,000+. The homepage advertises “from 9.25% to 11.49% APR” — the two pages do not agree, and we record both rather than choose | Not published. The page states only that “APRs vary and are based on principal amount and loan type” | 12.0% interest, 14.18% APR |
| Fees beyond interest | No payments required before closure; repayment without penalty | “Zero origination, prepayment, closure, or liquidation fees” | 2.00% origination fee; no prepayment penalty; USD 10 per late payment |
| Term | 12 months, renewable while LTV is healthy | A no-maturity-date option: “keep borrowed funds without a time limit” | Twelve 30-day payments |
| Liquidation | Starting LTV 50%; automatic top-ups and buffer thresholds | Margin calls and liquidations exist and are described; trigger levels are not published | Collateral monitored, with a loan health report in the borrower dashboard |
| Who holds the collateral | “A qualified independent custodian”, in segregated on-chain addresses | “Institutional custody. We hold your collateral or transfer it to our capital providers” | A multisig in which “your company controls a key”, verifiable on-chain |
| Re-posting and rehypothecation, in the lender’s own words | Collateral “may only be re-posted by Ledn to a trusted institutional USD funding partner, such as a bank, credit fund or other corporate funding partner”, legally ring-fenced from that partner’s assets. On Custodied loans: “Neither Ledn, the funding partner, nor the financing vehicle has the right to lend it out for yield.” | “With no further rehypothecation. Your bitcoin is never lent out.” | “Zero rehypothecation” |
| Geographic availability | “Available in 100+ countries” | “Available in select US states” — the states are not enumerated | “Not all products are available in all states” |
| Scale, as published | Over USD 11 billion in loans originated; operating since 2018 | Not published on the lending page | Over USD 1 billion in loan originations across 1,000+ loans |
Every cell read at source on 8 September 2026. Published rates are advertisements — obtain your own terms in writing. Last Verified: September 2026.
Three cells withdrawn from the previous version of this table
Ledn, “not rehypothecated” — withdrawn. The table previously described Ledn’s collateral as not rehypothecated, and the section below it credited Ledn with promising as much. That is not what Ledn publishes. Ledn’s own site states that collateral “may only be re-posted by Ledn to a trusted institutional USD funding partner”; re-posting to a funding partner is precisely what rehypothecation means. What Ledn does undertake — and it is a meaningful undertaking, scoped to its Custodied product — is that neither it, the funding partner, nor the financing vehicle may lend the collateral out for yield, with the collateral held by a qualified independent custodian in segregated on-chain addresses and a monthly Open Book Report published against assets and liabilities. The distinction between “never moves” and “may move, but may not be lent” is the entire question for a borrower, and this publication had collapsed it.
Strike, “no price liquidation” and a six-month term — withdrawn. Strike’s lending page as it stands today describes margin calls and liquidations directly, and offers a no maturity date structure rather than a six-month one. The earlier characterisation described a product configuration we can no longer find published.
Unchained, “negotiated” term — withdrawn. Unchained publishes a fixed schedule: twelve 30-day payments at 12.0% interest, 14.18% APR, with a 2.00% origination fee. It is not negotiated, and describing it as such understated how transparent the pricing actually is.
The axis that actually decides it: custody — and the ranking was wrong
Rate is where borrowers look first and it is the least important of the three variables, because a percentage point on a conservative loan is small money against the size of the position. Liquidation matters more. But for a holder whose loan is secured by an eight-figure position, the decisive question is the oldest one in Bitcoin: who can move the coins while the loan is live?
Read against what the three lenders actually publish today, the answer separates them cleanly, and not in the order this publication previously gave. Unchained is alone in removing the question: the collateral sits in a multisig in which the borrower holds a key, the position is verifiable on-chain, and the published policy is zero rehypothecation. Strike takes custody but publishes the strongest language of the two custodial lenders — collateral may be transferred to its capital providers “with no further rehypothecation”, and “your bitcoin is never lent out”. Ledn is the most explicit about the mechanics and the most qualified in what it promises: collateral may be re-posted to a funding partner, is held with a qualified independent custodian in segregated addresses, is legally ring-fenced from that partner’s estate, and on Custodied loans may not be lent for yield.
None of that makes Ledn the weakest choice. It has the lowest published minimum by a factor of three hundred, the broadest geographic reach, the longest operating record of the three, and it publishes a monthly reconciliation of assets against liabilities — which is more than most of its competitors do in any market. What it means is narrower and more useful: the borrower who requires that the collateral never leave a structure they can verify themselves is paying for that, and the price is legible. Unchained’s floor is USD 150,000 and its APR is roughly three to four points above Ledn’s at comparable size. That gap is not a markup for a better rate sheet. It is the cost of not having to trust anybody, and for a large enough position it is cheap.
The 2022 lesson every borrower should carry
None of this is theoretical. The last cycle’s crypto-lending collapse — Celsius, BlockFi, Genesis and others — did not happen because Bitcoin fell. It happened because those platforms took customers’ collateral and lent it out, rehypothecating the same coins across a chain of counterparties until one failure cascaded through all of them, and depositors who thought they had a simple loan discovered they were unsecured creditors of an insolvent business. That is the risk you are really pricing when you choose a lender. It is why Ledn’s explicit no-rehypothecation policy is worth more than a few basis points of rate, why Strike publicising a named credit facility and proof-of-reserves matters, and why Unchained’s model — where the collateral is mathematically outside the lender’s unilateral control — exists at all. A bitcoin-backed loan is a good instrument; a bitcoin-backed loan from a counterparty that quietly reuses your collateral is how people lost coins they had no intention of ever selling. Read the custody terms before the rate.
The verdict
For an individual borrowing against Bitcoin in 2026, Ledn remains the sensible starting point: the lowest published minimum of the three by a wide margin, the broadest geographic reach, the longest operating record, and a monthly reconciliation of assets against liabilities. What it does not offer is a guarantee that the collateral never moves — it may be re-posted to a funding partner, ring-fenced but not immobile. If you want a custodial lender whose published language on that point is unqualified, Strike states that collateral transferred to its capital providers carries “no further rehypothecation” and is “never lent out” — though it publishes neither a rate nor a minimum, and lends only in select US states, so you will not know your terms until you apply. If your loan runs to six or seven figures and you refuse on principle to let the collateral out of a structure you can verify yourself, Unchained’s multisig-secured, commercial-only facility is the only one of the three that answers the question, and the USD 150,000 floor and roughly three-point rate premium are what that answer costs. Three good answers to three different questions — which is exactly why “the best bitcoin loan” is the wrong question, and “the best bitcoin loan for my size and my risk” is the right one. A fourth institution, Xapo Bank, answers a fourth question again, and is compared against Ledn directly below.
Ledn and Xapo Bank, Head to Head
The three-way comparison above covers the lenders that dominate the conversation among individual borrowers. A fourth name comes up often enough to deserve its own answer, and it is a different kind of institution: Xapo Bank is a licensed bank rather than a lending desk, and it lends against Bitcoin to its own members. The comparison people actually ask for is Ledn against Xapo, so here it is, with every cell taken from each company’s own current pages and nothing carried over from either firm’s marketing elsewhere.
| Ledn | Xapo Bank | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is, as published | A Bitcoin-backed lender, operating since 2018 | A licensed bank; lending is one service inside a membership that also covers accounts, custody and interest |
| Published minimum loan | USD 500 | USD 1,000 |
| Published maximum loan | Not published on the loans page | USD 5,000,000 |
| Holding required to qualify | Not published as a coin figure; stated as collateral at the applicable LTV | “A minimum of 0.1 BTC”, and Bitcoin held under three months may require proof of source |
| Loan-to-value, as offered | Starts at 50% LTV — “a $500 loan needs about $1,000 of BTC” | Initial LTV of 20%, 30% or 40%; the page states the loan “is limited to 40% of your Bitcoin’s value” |
| Margin call and liquidation thresholds | Not published as fixed percentages on the loans page; described as automatic top-ups and buffer thresholds | Published as numbers: more collateral required above 65% LTV; “if the LTV reaches 80%, we’ll sell your collateral to cover what you owe” |
| Published rate | A tiered card on the loans page: 11.49% APR below USD 250,000; 10.99% at 250,000+; 10.49% at 500,000+; 9.99% at 1,000,000+ | Not published. The calculator renders the rate only in-session, and the page says figures are “for illustrative purposes only” |
| Fees beyond interest | No payments required before closure; repayment without penalty | “We charge interest only—no hidden fees. No arrangement, closure, margin call, or liquidation fees.” Early repayment carries no penalty |
| Re-posting and rehypothecation, in the firm’s own words | Collateral “may only be re-posted by Ledn to a trusted institutional USD funding partner”; on Custodied loans, neither Ledn, the funding partner nor the financing vehicle “has the right to lend it out for yield” | The Borrow page carries the unqualified line “No rehypothecation of Bitcoin”, and states that “all of your Bitcoin remains locked up and secure in our digital vaults when used as collateral” |
| Geographic availability | “Available in 100+ countries” | Membership is global, but the page states plainly that “lending services are not available to residents of the United Kingdom or Australia” |
| Funding speed, as published | “Median funding 3.8 hours” | “Cash arrives in under a minute” once approved |
| Read at source | 9 September 2026 | 9 September 2026 |
The asymmetry that decides this pair is the same one that decides the three-way comparison above, and it points the other way. Xapo publishes the harder promise and the harder numbers. Its Borrow page states “no rehypothecation” without the qualification Ledn attaches, caps the loan at 40% of collateral value rather than starting at 50%, and prints its margin-call and liquidation thresholds as figures a borrower can plan against — 65% and 80% — where Ledn describes the mechanism without committing to a percentage on the same page.
What Xapo does not publish is the price. The rate is rendered inside the calculator and the page disclaims the figures as illustrative, so a borrower cannot compare cost before joining the bank; Ledn prints a tiered rate card that can be read by anyone. And Xapo’s lending is closed to residents of the United Kingdom and Australia, a restriction Ledn does not carry. A UK holder comparing the two is not choosing between them at all.
Neither of these is a recommendation. They are two different products wearing similar language: a lender that tells you the price and qualifies the custody promise, and a bank that makes the custody promise plainly and will not tell you the price until you are inside. Last Verified: September 2026.
Disclosure: Bitcoinionaire does not currently hold an affiliate relationship with Ledn, Strike, or Unchained; this comparison is independent and unpaid. Where we do earn commissions — on hardware wallets, for instance — it is disclosed on the relevant page. This article is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice.
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Citation and licensing
The acceptance statuses on this page are drawn from The Vetted Index, a dated register maintained to a published standard, with every claim we have withdrawn or narrowed recorded in the Correction Log. Citation is free and always will be: quote this page or the register with attribution to Bitcoinionaire and the entry date, because a claim without its date is not our claim. The dataset carries a permanent identifier — DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22305818 — and the terms for redistribution, feeds and AI training are published on the Licence and Rate Card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best bitcoin-backed loan in 2026: Ledn, Strike, or Unchained?
It depends on size and on how much you need to control the collateral. Read at source on 8 September 2026: Ledn publishes the lowest barrier of the three, with a USD 500 minimum, availability in over 100 countries, more than USD 11 billion originated since 2018, and APR tiers running from 11.49% down to 9.99% at a million and above; its collateral may be re-posted to an institutional funding partner but, on its Custodied product, may not be lent out for yield. Strike publishes a single APR with no origination, prepayment, closure or liquidation fees, a no-maturity-date option, and the plainest custody language of the two custodial lenders — collateral may move to its capital providers “with no further rehypothecation” and “is never lent out” — but it publishes neither a rate nor a minimum, and is available only in select US states. Unchained is commercial-only at a USD 150,000 minimum and 14.18% APR with a 2.00% origination fee, and is the only one of the three where the collateral sits in a multisig the borrower holds a key to, under a published policy of zero rehypothecation.
Does Xapo Bank rehypothecate Bitcoin collateral, and how does that compare with Ledn?
Xapo Bank’s Borrow page, read at source on 9 September 2026, carries the unqualified line “No rehypothecation of Bitcoin” and states that all of your Bitcoin “remains locked up and secure in our digital vaults when used as collateral”. Ledn’s promise on the same point is narrower: collateral “may only be re-posted by Ledn to a trusted institutional USD funding partner”, and on its Custodied product neither Ledn, that partner nor the financing vehicle “has the right to lend it out for yield”. The practical differences run the other way on price and access: Ledn publishes a tiered APR card and lends in over 100 countries, while Xapo publishes no rate outside its calculator and states that lending services are not available to residents of the United Kingdom or Australia.
Do you pay tax on a bitcoin-backed loan?
Taking a loan against Bitcoin is generally not itself a taxable event in the United States, because you have not sold the asset — you have borrowed against it. That is the entire appeal versus selling. Interest is owed on the loan, and a forced liquidation of collateral to cover the loan would be a taxable disposal. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm your position with a qualified adviser.
What happens to my Bitcoin if its price falls during the loan?
On a conventional bitcoin-backed loan the lender issues a margin call as the loan-to-value ratio rises, and liquidates collateral if it is not topped up — Ledn, for example, publishes a 50% starting LTV, a 70% margin-call level, and 80% liquidation. Strike’s 2026 volatility-proof product removes price-triggered liquidation entirely: the loan cannot be liquidated on price so long as you keep making payments, in exchange for a shorter six-month term, a 45% initial LTV cap, and a rate premium. With Unchained, collateral sits in a 2-of-3 multisig you can monitor directly.
How we check these claims. Rates, minimums and custody arrangements on this page were read from each lender’s own published material and carry the date of that reading. Ledn, Strike and Unchained are lenders rather than merchants, so none of the three is an entry in the Bitcoinionaire Vetted Index, which records cryptocurrency acceptance by named luxury brands. The standard every check on this site is made against is published at the Acceptance Standard, and every correction we make is listed in the Correction Log. Record reviewed 4 September 2026.
Further Reading
- Buying Luxury with a Bitcoin-Backed Loan: The Ledn Guide
- Bitcoin Collaborative Custody: The Unchained Guide
- Bitcoin Inheritance and Estate Planning: The Definitive Guide
- Trezor Safe 7 vs Ledger Stax: Which Secures Eight-Figure Bitcoin Better?
- The Bitcoinionaire Vetted Index: cryptocurrency acceptance, dated and checked at source
