Coinbase and Ledn Strengthen Crypto Lending Push Despite Market Slump
Digital asset lending firm Ledn has accomplished the first-ever transaction of its type within the asset-backed debt market, promoting $188 million in securitized bonds backed by Bitcoin (BTC).
This improvement emerges because the lending market confronts a risky surroundings. Active loans have fallen to round $30 billion, and liquidation dangers are rising with persistent value declines.
Coinbase and Ledn Double Down on Crypto Lending
Bloomberg, citing sources acquainted with the matter, reported that the deal consists of two bonds. One portion, rated investment-grade, was priced at a diffusion of 335 foundation factors above the benchmark charge.
According to a report from S&P Global Ratings, the bonds are secured by a pledge of 4,078.87 Bitcoin. The honest market worth stands at roughly $356.9 million.
The loans carry a weighted common rate of interest of 11.8%. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. served because the lead supervisor, structuring agent, and preliminary purchaser.
“Ledn’s liquidation engine is an algorithmic buying and selling program that sources costs on a number of exchanges and/or is accessible by a number of buying and selling companions. Ledn has efficiently liquidated BTC collateral to repay 7,493 loans in its seven-year historical past, with a mean LTV at liquidation of 80.32%, a most LTV at liquidation of 84.66%, and has by no means skilled a loss. On a WA foundation, liquidation upon an LTV EOD has taken beneath 10 seconds, with minimal “value slippage” in execution,” the report reads.
Beyond Ledn, Coinbase is expanding its footprint in crypto-backed lending. In a current replace, the change mentioned users can borrow up to $100,000 in USDC, the stablecoin issued by Circle, by pledging XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), or Litecoin (LTC) as collateral by the decentralized finance protocol Morpho.
The providing is accessible throughout the US, apart from New York, in keeping with the corporate.
Crypto Lending Shrinks 36% as Active Loans Fall
This comes at a pivotal second for the crypto lending sector, which has contracted sharply amid broader market weak spot. Data from TokenTerminal confirmed that as of February 2026, whole energetic loans across lending protocols stand at roughly $30 billion, down 36% from the September peak of $46.96 billion.
The decline coincides with a sustained downtrend within the crypto market since October, which seemingly amplified the contraction. Falling asset costs scale back the greenback worth of posted collateral, tightening borrowing capacity and contributing to liquidations or voluntary deleveraging.
This compresses excellent mortgage balances whereas mechanically reducing whole worth locked when measured in USD phrases. Increased volatility additional pressures leveraged positions, reinforcing the decline in energetic loans.
“Quick mortgage refresher throughout risky markets: As BTC value drops, LTV rises, Higher LTV = greater liquidation danger, Adding collateral or repaying a part of the mortgage lowers LTV, Tools exist to assist, however understanding the mechanics all the time comes first,” Ledn posted.
At the identical time, whole worth locked throughout lending protocols fell from greater than $89.7 billion in October to roughly $52 billion, in keeping with DefiLlama. This represented a decline of round 42%.
The decline displays each asset value depreciation and capital outflows, as weaker market situations diminished danger urge for food, suppressed new borrowing demand, and prompted customers to deleverage or rotate into lower-risk belongings.
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