Bitcoin collateralized lending accelerates towards mainstream: expanding from trading financing to real needs such as tuition fees and corporate turnover

Bitcoin collateralized lending is gradually expanding from a cryptocurrency financial scene focused on trading and investment to real credit needs such as tuition fees, living expenses, business operating funds, and real estate, showing a significant change in market usage. Institutions like SALT Lending and Ledn indicate that more and more borrowers are choosing to collateralize BTC for liquidity instead of selling their holdings.

Since its establishment in 2018, Ledn has issued loans totaling over $11 billion and expects this scale to grow to $1 trillion in the coming years. Its clients include entrepreneurs and institutional investors seeking operating funds, as well as individuals borrowing to pay for children's education, real estate investments, and short-term living expenses. This trend indicates that the financial attributes of BTC are extending from "tradable assets" further to "collateralizable assets." Borrowers hope to unlock its value without selling BTC while still retaining potential upside exposure.

At the same time, institutions like SALT are promoting fixed-rate, long-term products, bringing crypto collateralized loans closer to traditional credit models like home mortgages. Coinbase has also recently launched fixed-rate BTC collateralized loans through Morpho. Ledn further anticipates that similar models may expand from BTC to traditional hard assets like gold, and the boundaries of the collateralized asset lending market are widening.