Lending

Strike delivers one of the cleanest Bitcoin buying experiences available, with trading fees starting around 0.99% for small purchases and dropping to 0.39% for larger volumes—consistently undercutting Cash App and PayPal on both trading costs and transfer fees. The app leans heavily on the Lightning Network, enabling near-instant payments with minimal fees, which makes it genuinely useful for everyday transactions rather than just buy-and-hold. Free ACH deposits, straightforward recurring purchases for dollar-cost averaging, and the ability to convert part of your paycheck directly into bitcoin round out a feature set designed for practical daily use.

On the trust side, Strike operates as a fully-reserved custodian, explicitly stating that customer assets are held 1:1 rather than rehypothecated. The company maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, adheres to global AML and data protection standards, and has pursued licensing in stricter jurisdictions including El Salvador's digital assets regime. For users who prefer self-custody, bitcoin can be withdrawn to personal wallets via on-chain or Lightning at any time, reducing ongoing counterparty exposure.

Unchained operates as a U.S.-regulated bitcoin financial services company founded in 2016 and based in Austin, Texas. The platform has secured billions of dollars in bitcoin and originated over $500 million in bitcoin-backed loans, establishing a multi-year track record in the industry. Their collaborative custody model uses standard bitcoin multisignature technology where clients typically hold 2 of 3 keys, meaning Unchained cannot unilaterally move funds—a verifiable security property that eliminates the counterparty risk that led to failures at centralized exchanges.

The security architecture allows clients to independently verify their holdings using external wallet software and open-source tools, avoiding the opaque off-chain accounting that has plagued custodial services. For those wanting additional institutional backing, Unchained offers multi-institution custody arrangements where keys are distributed among the client, Unchained, and independent third-party key agents like Bakkt. This design prevents any single entity from accessing funds while maintaining professional recovery options if a client loses access to their keys.

Your collateral stays in a 3-of-4 multisig—Debifi cannot move your bitcoin without you. Keys held by borrower, lender, Debifi, and AnchorWatch. Zero rehypothecation. Verify your collateral on-chain anytime. Backed by Ten31, Timechain, Fulgur Ventures, Plan B Fund. Exited beta June 2025. Sygnum Bank partnership for MultiSYG (launching 2026).

Founded 2016. Pioneered non-custodial P2P trading and lending. 2-of-3 multisig escrow. No fiat gatekeepers. Escrow extraction tool for emergency recovery. Based in Latvia.

Majority-owned subsidiary of Newmarket Capital ($3B AUM). Partnership with Ten31. First deal completed November 2024 (Bank Street Court, Philadelphia). No mark-to-market triggers—bitcoin price drops don't force liquidation.

Ledn has built credibility through operational longevity and transparent practices since launching in 2018. The platform has originated over $9 billion in loans without reported losses, demonstrating consistent risk management across multiple market cycles. All assets are held in cold storage through BitGo custody using multi-signature wallets and AES-256 encryption. Loan collateral remains segregated and is never re-lent, with on-chain verifiability allowing users to confirm their holdings independently.

The platform undergoes regular Proof-of-Reserves audits conducted by Armanino LLP, providing third-party verification that client assets match reported balances. Ledn operates without a utility token and explicitly states it does not sell user data, removing common conflict-of-interest concerns found in the broader crypto lending space. Two-factor authentication is mandatory, and the Bitcoin-only focus (alongside stablecoins) reduces exposure to the broader altcoin risks that have affected other lending platforms.

Firefish operates on a fully non-custodial model where your Bitcoin collateral is never held by the platform. Instead, BTC is locked in on-chain multisignature escrow contracts directly on the Bitcoin network, with no reliance on sidechains or smart contract platforms. The platform explicitly states it does not have access to Bitcoin collateral—it is never touched, traded, or rehypothecated.

The protocol includes advanced recovery mechanisms using pre-signed recovery transactions and time locks, ensuring borrowers can reclaim collateral even in catastrophic scenarios. All loans are over-collateralized (50% initial LTV), with a Collateral Health Index monitoring system that triggers margin calls before the 95% liquidation threshold.

Firefish raised $1.8M in seed funding led by Braiins (the world's oldest Bitcoin mining pool) with participation from Miton VC. The platform has processed over $250M in transactions with 2,400+ BTC in collateral and 10,000+ users. Based in Prague's Bitcoin ecosystem alongside Trezor and SatoshiLabs, with KYC/AML compliance via third-party provider Idenfy.

Lygos Finance uses Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) to create a structurally non-custodial lending system. Bitcoin collateral is locked in native 2-of-2 scripts on the Bitcoin blockchain, meaning only the borrower and lender can move funds - Lygos itself cannot access, freeze, or rehypothecate your bitcoin.

The platform explicitly avoids wrapped BTC or synthetic collateral, keeping all bitcoin operations on the native Bitcoin network. Loan mechanics are fully on-chain, transparent, and auditable via DLCs, eliminating the need for shared custodians and cross-jurisdictional complexity that plagued previous centralized lenders.

The founding team brings institutional experience from Anchorage Digital, StarkWare, ConsenSys, Shopify, and JPMorgan, bringing enterprise-grade operational knowledge to the platform's design.