12 Best Crypto Loan Providers 2026 (Expert Verified)

Yes, you can borrow against your crypto without selling it. You deposit crypto as collateral, receive cash or stablecoins worth a set percentage of its value, and get the collateral back when you repay. There is no credit check, and taking out the loan is not a taxable event.

This ranking is written for borrowers in the United States. The first eight platforms below lend to US residents. The three that do not are covered in their own section at the end, because a reader outside the US still needs an answer.

The best crypto loan platforms for US borrowers

Eight of these nine platforms lend to US residents. Crypto.com is the exception: it does not publish a public eligibility list for its loan product, so check whether it is open to you before you plan around it. The three DeFi protocols at the end of the list (Aave, Compound and Alchemix) are permissionless, so anyone with a wallet can use them wherever they live, but they also have no customer support and nobody to call when a position moves against you.

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Best for most US borrowers

Coinbase

Coinbase lets you borrow USDC against your crypto through Morpho, an onchain lending protocol, without leaving the Coinbase app. It is the crypto loan product the largest number of US borrowers can actually open today, and Coinbase has passed $1 billion in bitcoin-backed loan originations. Coinbase does not publish a minimum loan size.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Borrow up to $5 million against BTC, $1 million against ETH, and $100,000 against SOL, ADA, XRP, LTC or DOGE, as of May 2026.
• 
  Rates start at around 5%, with no monthly payments and no repayment deadline.
• 
  Available to Coinbase customers in every US state except New York.
• 
  Nothing to set up separately: the loan sits alongside the balance you already hold.

• 
  Not available to residents of New York State.
• 
  You open the loan at a collateral ratio of at least 133%, which is a maximum LTV of about 75%, and Coinbase liquidates if your LTV reaches 86%. Fall below it and the position can be liquidated.
• 
  Borrowing runs through Morpho, a third-party onchain protocol, so smart contract risk applies even though you never leave the Coinbase app.
• 
  Loans are issued in USDC rather than dollars, so you take on stablecoin exposure.

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Best for bitcoin-backed loans

Ledn

Ledn is a bitcoin-native lender that has processed more than $1 billion in loans. Every loan is fully custodied: Ledn no longer lends client collateral out to third parties, which removes the rehypothecation risk that turned the 2022 lender bankruptcies into total losses for customers.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Collateral is fully custodied and is not lent out again.
• 
  Rates fall as the loan gets larger, from 11.49% APR under $250,000 down to 9.25% at $2 million and above.
• 
  Minimum loan is $500, so you do not have to be a large borrower to use it.
• 
  The 2% origination fee is waived for US and Canadian borrowers.

• 
  Only BTC and USDC are accepted as collateral.
• 
  Loans run at about 50% LTV, and Ledn liquidates automatically at 80% LTV with a 0.50% trade spread, returning whatever is left.
• 
  US availability is decided state by state, so check before you apply.

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Best for flexible credit lines

Nexo

Nexo returned to the United States on 16 February 2026, with Bakkt providing the regulated trading infrastructure, three years after a $45 million SEC settlement and its exit from the US market. It offers a revolving credit line rather than a fixed-term loan, so you draw only what you need and pay interest only on that.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Credit lines start at 1.9% per year, the lowest headline rate on this page.
• 
  More than 100 assets are accepted as collateral.
• 
  Lines run from $50 to $2 million, which covers both very small and very large borrowers.
• 
  You draw down and repay as you like, rather than servicing a fixed term.

• 
  Nexo paid a $45 million SEC settlement and left the US market in 2023 before relaunching in February 2026, so its track record under the current setup is short.
• 
  LTV varies widely by asset, from 15% on the NEXO token to around 50% on BTC and ETH and up to 90% on stablecoins, so the headline 90% is not what you get on Bitcoin.

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Best for security & trust

Arch Lending

Arch Lending is a centralized lender focused on security. Collateral is held with Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered bank, in segregated wallets with no rehypothecation and $100 million of Lloyd’s of London insurance. Loans start at 7.25% APR, with a representative rate of 10.49%, run for 1 to 12 months. The maximum LTV depends on the collateral: 60% for BTC, 55% for ETH, 45% for SOL and XRP, and up to 75% for the gold tokens PAXG and XAUT.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Arch Lending is focused on security, reducing the risk that you’ll lose your cryptocurrency due to hacks and/or bankruptcy.
• 
  Offers startup-equity backed loans and white glove service for high net worth individuals.
• 
  Beginner-friendly with quality customer service.

• 
  Not available to individuals in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island or Vermont, or to businesses in California, DC, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island or Vermont.
• 
  The origination fee is tiered, from 0.25% to 1.49% depending on the loan, and there is a liquidation fee of typically 2% if your collateral is sold.
• 
  Minimum loan is $5,000 against BTC, ETH or SOL, rising to $25,000 against XRP and $250,000 against PAXG or XAUT.

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Best for borrowing inside an exchange

Crypto.com

Crypto.com is one of the world’s most well-known crypto exchanges. Borrowing runs through Exchange Lending, so if you already hold your coins there you can take a loan against them without moving anything. Availability varies by region, and Crypto.com does not publish a minimum loan size on its public pages, so check both before you plan around them.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Publicly documented loan currencies include USDC, USDT, BTC and ETH.
• 
  Integrated with the Crypto.com ecosystem.
• 
  Borrowing less against your collateral costs you less: roughly 6% APR at 33% LTV, against about 8% APR at the maximum 50% LTV. Locking CRO reduces the rate by roughly two percentage points.
• 
  Three fixed LTV tiers (25%, 33% and 50%) make the cost of a loan easy to work out before you commit.

• 
  8% APR is the price of the maximum 50% LTV tier, not a reward. Borrowing the most your collateral allows is the most expensive way to use the product.
• 
  Crypto.com does not publish its margin-call and liquidation thresholds on a public page, so ask before you borrow. Legacy Cardholder CRO Staking and CRO Lockup moved into the Level Up program on 2 September 2025, so older staking tiers no longer describe how the rate is set.

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Best for commercial loans

Unchained

Unchained is a centralized financial services provider that offers Bitcoin-backed loans to businesses and commercial borrowers. Loans start at a $150,000 minimum and run on 12 interest-only payments at 12% interest, which works out to a 14.18% APR once the 2% origination fee is rolled into the amount borrowed. Expect to post around 200% of the loan in Bitcoin, which is roughly a 50% LTV.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Slick, user-friendly interface.
• 
  Quality customer support.
• 
  Unchained does not invest your collateral. This limits the risk of platform failure.
• 
  BTC keys are distributed among three holders, your company, Unchained, and Fortis, making it difficult for a hacker to steal your BTC.

• 
  Unchained only supports Bitcoin as collateral.
• 
  At 12% interest and a 14.18% APR, Unchained is the most expensive option in this ranking.
• 
  Commercial loans are not available in every state. Unchained publishes a “where we lend” map rather than a list, so check it before you apply.
• 
  No longer writes consumer loans, and the $150,000 minimum puts it out of reach for most individual borrowers.

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Best for DeFi lending

Aave

Aave is one of the world’s most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols that is used to borrow and lend cryptocurrency. Aave is built on the Ethereum blockchain and offers low interest rates and features like no-collateral flash loans.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Aave is the oldest and largest lending protocol in DeFi, with the deepest liquidity of any option on this list.
• 
  Flash loans available to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities! (Remember, flash loans are typically suited towards experienced investors with coding knowledge.)
• 
  Support for Ethereum and other networks, including Polygon, Avalanche and Arbitrum.

• 
  Users must actively watch and manage their positions to avoid liquidation.
• 
  May be difficult to use if you’re new to DeFi.
• 
  Interest rates are variable and move with utilization, so the rate you see when you borrow is not the rate you will pay for the life of the loan. Check the live rate for your asset.
• 
  In April 2026, an exploit of KelpDAO’s bridge let an attacker borrow roughly 126,000 WETH against unbacked collateral on Aave, leaving the protocol with an estimated $177 million to $230 million of bad debt and triggering around $10 billion of withdrawals.

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Best for no minimum loan requirements

Compound

Compound is an Ethereum-based DeFi protocol that allows users to borrow assets and earn interest on deposits. The live product is Compound V3, also called Comet. Compound is considered difficult to use, but it is one of the longest-running names in the ecosystem.

Pros & Cons

• 
  One of the most trusted projects in DeFi.
• 
  Borrow rates are variable and have recently run in a range of roughly 2% to 12% APR, depending on how heavily the market is being used.
• 
  No minimum requirements for borrowing or lending.

• 
  Supports fewer assets than other platforms.
• 
  Difficult to use for beginners.
• 
  Compound V3 lets you borrow only the base asset of the market you are in. Compound V2, the older cToken product, had its borrows and mints paused in late 2025, and positions had to be migrated.

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Best for self-repaying loans

Alchemix

Alchemix offers a unique self-repaying loan. The platform stakes your collateral to generate returns, and that return pays off your loan, so there is no need for you to make monthly payments. Alchemix v3, live since April 2026, lends up to 90% of your collateral value at a 0% borrow APR.

Pros & Cons

• 
  No need to make manual payments, the loan pays itself from yield from your collateral.
• 
  No forced liquidations.
• 
  Customize details about your loan, such as yield generation!

• 
  Because Alchemix relies on other protocols to generate yield, there is some risk if these applications fail or are compromised.
• 
  Alchemix supports less than 10 cryptocurrencies as collateral, including ETH and DAI.
• 
  Alchemix v3 only launched in April 2026, so the contracts holding your collateral have a shorter track record than the rest of this list.

Crypto loan platforms outside the US

None of the three platforms below lends to US residents. They are here because for a lot of borrowers outside the US these are the realistic options, and cutting them would leave those readers with nothing.

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Best for non-US customers

Binance

Binance is one of the world’s largest centralized crypto exchanges, and its Flexible Rate loan product is over-collateralized and open-term, borrowable from the equivalent of $1. Rates are variable and differ by asset, so check the live rate before you borrow rather than planning around a headline number.

Pros & Cons

• 
  Wide range of supported assets, over 50 cryptocurrencies can be used as collateral!
• 
  Competitive interest rates (varies based on asset)
• 
  Integrated with the Binance ecosystem.

• 
  Centralized platform risk.
• 
  Binance does not serve US residents, and Binance.US is a separate company with a smaller product range. Canadian operations wound down in May 2023 and new UK sign-ups closed in October 2023.

       

       

                       Learn More        

       

           

               

Best for no monthly payments

           

       

       

           

Wirex

           

               Wirex is a UK-based platform founded in 2014. Wirex Credit lends you stablecoins against your crypto at up to 70% LTV, charges interest only for the days a loan is actually active, and lets you repay at any time, in part or in full, with no penalty. Wirex does not publish a minimum loan size on its borrow page.            

       

   

           

       

           

Pros & Cons

                   

       

                       

               
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  24/7 customer support
                 
               
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  No fixed monthly payments
                 
               
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  Funds protected by Fireblocks, a digital asset custody platform.
                 
               
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  User-friendly interface
                 
           

                                   

               
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  Only stablecoins available to borrow
                 
               
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  Centralized platform risk
                 
               
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  Wirex loans are not available in the USA
                 
               
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  Wirex closed the crypto side of its Classic app in the EEA and Australia on 30 June 2026, so availability outside the US is narrower than it was.
                 
           

                   

   

   

       

       

                       Learn More        

       

           

               

Best for high LTVs

           

       

       

           

YouHodler

           

               YouHodler is a centralized platform that offers exchange services and crypto-backed loans. While the platform has faced security issues, it offers high LTVs and has been praised for being user-friendly!            

       

   

           

       

           

Pros & Cons

                   

       

                       

               
•                                        
  Loan-to-value ratios up to 97% of your collateral value, the highest on this page.
                 
               
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  User-friendly interface.
                 
               
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  Loans start at $100 and can run for up to 364 days.
                 
           

                                   

               
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  In 2019, YouHodler exposed a database of about 86 million records covering roughly 3,500 customers.
                 
               
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  APRs can vary significantly based on multiple factors, such as LTV and the selected cryptocurrency.
                 
               
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  Not available to residents of the United States or Canada.
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  A 97% LTV loan liquidates on a very small adverse move: a 3% fall in your collateral erases the entire cushion. YouHodler is Swiss-based and registered as a VASP in Italy and Spain, but it is not yet MiCA-authorised and states plainly that it is not regulated by the FCA.
                 
           

                   

   

   

How do crypto loans work? 

Crypto loans allow users to borrow fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies using their crypto holdings as collateral. The borrower agrees to pay back the loan with interest over a specified period, and once repaid, they regain access to their collateral.

However, if the value of your collateral falls under a certain loan-to-value ratio, it’s possible that your collateral will be liquidated. 

Crypto loans offer advantages over traditional loans, most loan providers do not require a credit check. However, cryptocurrency’s volatility means there is greater risk of liquidation during a market downturn. 

Types of crypto loans 

There are two types of cryptocurrency loans: CeFi and DeFi. 

1. CeFi: Loans from centralized platforms like Binance. 
2. DeFi: Loans from decentralized protocols like Aave. 

What is a CeFi loan? 

In a CeFi loan, a centralized platform takes control of your collateral. This means that the lender holds the private keys to your crypto-assets. 

Centralized platforms do offer some advantages. Centralized platforms offer easy-to-use interfaces and customer support, which may make them a better option for beginner investors. However, users should be cognizant of the risks associated with centralized lenders.

In recent years, centralized lenders have faced criticism for mismanaging customer funds. 2022 saw multiple cryptocurrency lenders go bankrupt, including BlockFi, Voyager, and Celsius. 

Because so many centralized lenders have faced financial issues, most popular centralized lending platforms today, like Unchained, are directed towards high net-worth individuals. 

What is a DeFi loan? 

Decentralized protocols don’t require third-party platforms taking custody of your funds. dApps (decentralized applications) use smart contracts, allowing you to receive a loan from other users without the need for a middleman.

DeFi protocols don’t have the option to give users fiat currency. Instead, loans are paid out in stablecoin. 

DeFi protocols are a great option for users who are wary of centralized platforms and who are looking for transparent lending options. 

“The #1 thing people need to understand about DeFi loan platforms is the risk of a market downturn. It’s possible you could go to sleep, then the next thing you know your crypto is down 20% and you risk liquidation. That makes it important to actively manage your position and make sure you don’t risk large dollar amounts.” - Jordan Bass, Taxing Cryptocurrency 

What’s the point of a crypto loan? 

Let’s walk through a couple of popular reasons for taking out a crypto loan: 

Tax deferral: Because borrowing against your crypto as collateral isn’t a true disposal of your tokens, it doesn’t trigger a capital gains tax event. You get access to liquidity without selling. It is worth being precise about what that buys you: the tax is deferred, not avoided. Whenever you eventually sell the collateral, the gain is still there and still taxable.

Trading leverage: If you are bullish on the long term prospects of a cryptocurrency, you could take out a loan against your existing crypto holdings and then use the loan proceeds to buy more crypto. This “leverages up” your exposure to cryptocurrency, and it increases your risk in exactly the same proportion. The tax treatment of leveraged positions is its own subject, covered in our guide to crypto margin trading taxes.

What are the major risks of crypto loans?

A crypto loan hands you money without a credit check, but it does that by putting your collateral inside someone else’s risk model. Before you borrow, understand exactly what can take that collateral away from you.

A margin call and a liquidation are not the same thing

A margin call is a warning. Your collateral has fallen far enough that the lender wants more of it, or wants part of the loan repaid, and you normally have a window in which to act. A liquidation is the lender selling your collateral for you, at whatever the market will pay at that moment, with no discretion left on your side.

The thresholds differ by platform, and not every platform publishes them. Ledn liquidates automatically at 80% LTV with a 0.50% trade spread. Coinbase opens loans at a 133% collateral ratio, about a 75% LTV, and liquidates at an 86% LTV. Arch charges a liquidation fee of typically 2% on top of everything else. Write your platform’s numbers down before you borrow, not after.

What liquidation looks like in practice

Say you post $50,000 of Bitcoin and borrow $25,000 against it. That is a 50% LTV, comfortably inside every platform on this list.

• Bitcoin falls 25%. Your collateral is worth $37,500 and your LTV is 67%. Nothing has happened yet.
• Bitcoin falls 37.5%. Your collateral is worth $31,250 and your LTV is 80%. On Ledn you are liquidated here.
• Bitcoin falls 42%. Your collateral is worth about $29,000 and your LTV is about 86%. On Coinbase you are liquidated here.

Now run the same arithmetic at a 97% LTV, the highest ratio on this page. Borrow $48,500 against $50,000 of collateral and a 3% fall in price erases your entire cushion. A high LTV is not a better deal, it is a shorter fuse. A portfolio tracker that alerts you on price moves is the cheapest insurance against being liquidated in your sleep.

A forced liquidation is a taxable disposal

This is the part borrowers miss most often. If your collateral is liquidated, you’ll incur a capital gain or loss depending on how the price of your collateral has changed since you originally received it. This is true even if you do not receive the proceeds of the liquidation. You can be liquidated in a crash, never touch a dollar of the money, and still owe tax on the gain.

The platform itself can fail

This is not a hypothetical in crypto lending. 2022 took Celsius, BlockFi and Voyager, and customers who had posted collateral became unsecured creditors. The risk did not end there. In April 2026, an exploit of KelpDAO’s bridge let an attacker borrow roughly 126,000 WETH against unbacked collateral on Aave, leaving the largest and most heavily audited lending protocol in DeFi with an estimated $177 million to $230 million of bad debt and triggering around $10 billion of withdrawals.

• Volatility: Collateral can lose value fast, and the liquidation is automatic. Nobody phones you first.
• Smart contract vulnerabilities: DeFi protocols run on code that can be exploited, and a failure somewhere else in the system can still land on your protocol, as Aave found in 2026.
• Platform risk: Centralized lenders hold the private keys to your collateral. Hacks, mismanagement and regulatory action have all closed lenders in this market.
• Rehypothecation: Some lenders lend your collateral out again. That is the practice that turned the 2022 failures into total losses. Ledn, Arch and Unchained all state that they do not do it. Ask before you deposit.
• No FDIC protection: Unlike US dollars in a bank, cryptocurrency is not protected by the FDIC. If the platform goes bankrupt you may lose access to your collateral entirely.

Are crypto loans worth it? 

Cryptocurrency loans can be worth it, but it’s important to be aware of the risk of liquidation. 

Because your collateral can be liquidated, you should never deposit more than you can afford to lose and actively manage your position to avoid falling below minimum requirements.

Crypto loans without collateral 

There are a few options for borrowing crypto loans without collateral. 

What are flash loans? 

Flash loans allow users to borrow cryptocurrency without collateral.

Flash loans use smart contracts to allow users to borrow cryptocurrency, given that they can make a profitable transaction on the blockchain and pay back the loan instantly. If you cannot show how you will pay back the loan instantly though code, the flash loan will not be approved. 

Flash loans typically require advanced coding and smart contract knowledge and are typically recommended for experienced investors only.

Is there any other way to borrow without collateral?

Realistically, no, not as an individual. Flash loans are the one no-collateral route genuinely open to anyone, and they exist only inside a single transaction that repays itself. Under-collateralized lending does happen in crypto, but it runs through institutional desks that underwrite a named borrower directly, and those markets are not offered to retail borrowers. Every platform in the ranking above requires collateral, and any service promising you an uncollateralized retail crypto loan is worth treating as a scam until proven otherwise.

How to choose a crypto loan provider 

Looking for a crypto loan provider? Here are some factors you should consider before taking out a loan.

How are crypto loans taxed? 

Generally, taking out a loan is not considered a taxable event. However, some transactions may come with tax implications. 

Taking out a DeFi loan: Some DeFi protocols require users to trade one cryptocurrency for another to take out a loan. For example, some protocols require you to swap the asset you deposit for a receipt token before you can borrow against it. Though the IRS has not yet provided guidance on these transactions, it’s possible that this will be considered a crypto-to-crypto trade subject to capital gains tax.

Forced liquidation: A liquidation is a disposal, and it is taxable even though the proceeds go to your lender rather than to you. The full explanation is in the risk section above, because it belongs where you decide how much to borrow.

Crypto interest deduction: If you use your loan for business or investment purposes, you may be able to deduct your interest fees. The investment version is limited: under section 163(d), investment interest expense is an itemized deduction capped at your net investment income for the year, with anything above that carried forward. The deduction is not available at all if you used the loan for personal purchases.

For more information, check out our guide to cryptocurrency loan taxes.

Crypto loans and Form 1099-DA

Form 1099-DA landed for the first time this year, covering 2025 transactions. It is the form US brokers and exchanges now use to report your crypto dispositions directly to the IRS, and it matters more to a borrower than it looks.

Taking out a loan is not a disposal, so borrowing itself does not generate a 1099-DA. A forced liquidation does. If your collateral is sold on a US platform to cover your loan, that sale can land on a 1099-DA filed with the IRS, whether or not you ever saw the money.

For the 2025 tax year, Form 1099-DA reports your gross proceeds but not your cost basis. Exchanges only have to report basis from the 2026 tax year onward. That means a liquidation can look far larger on the form than the actual gain was. If you have been liquidated, reconcile the form against your own records before you file it.

Crypto loan alternatives

Not comfortable using your cryptocurrency as collateral? Here are some alternatives you can consider if you’re in need of a loan. 

Conventional loan: If you’re looking for a conventional loan, you can receive one from a bank or credit union. Typically, getting approved for a conventional loan is a lengthy process that involves a credit check. However, conventional loans do offer some benefits, such as FDIC protection for your collateral.

Home equity loan: A home equity loan allows you to receive a loan using your home as collateral. However, if you default on your home equity loan, the lender can foreclose on your home.

Small personal loans: In need of a small loan? Apps like Cash App let you borrow between $20 and $500.

Get your crypto taxes done in minutes

Borrowing against your crypto is not a taxable event, but almost everything around it can be. A forced liquidation is a disposal. A receipt-token swap may be one. Both can show up on a Form 1099-DA that reports your proceeds without your cost basis, and neither arrives with an explanation attached.

CoinLedger connects to hundreds of exchanges, wallets and DeFi protocols, reconciles your cost basis across all of them, and generates a complete tax report. It is also our own answer to the question of which crypto tax software to use.

700,000+ investors use CoinLedger to file their crypto taxes. Get started with a free preview report, and you only pay when you download your completed forms.