Bitcoin-collateralized lending accelerates toward the mainstream: expanding from trading financing to real-world needs such as tuition and corporate working capital.

BlockBeats news, October 8: Bitcoin-collateralized lending is gradually expanding from crypto-financial use cases centered on trading and investment to real-world credit needs such as tuition, living expenses, corporate working capital, and real estate, marking a notable shift in market usage. Institutions including SALT Lending and Ledn say a growing number of borrowers are choosing to pledge BTC for liquidity rather than sell their holdings.

Ledn has issued more than $11 billion in cumulative loans since its founding in 2018 and expects the scale to grow to $1 trillion in the coming years. Its clients include entrepreneurs and institutional investors seeking working capital, as well as individuals borrowing to pay for their children's education, real estate investment, and short-term living expenses.

This trend means BTC's financial attributes are extending further from a "tradable asset" to a "collateralizable asset." Borrowers want to unlock its value without selling BTC while retaining potential upside exposure. At the same time, institutions such as SALT are promoting fixed-rate, long-tenor products, bringing crypto-collateralized loans closer to traditional credit models such as residential mortgages. Coinbase has also recently launched fixed-rate BTC-collateralized loans through Morpho.

Ledn further expects that similar models may expand in the future from BTC to traditional hard assets such as gold, as the boundaries of the collateralized-asset lending market continue to widen.