Bitcoin Lending Is Entering a New Institutional Era, Silicon Valley Bank Says

The collapses of BlockFi, Celsius and Genesis in 2022 wiped out about $11 billion in customer funds, exposing risks including maturity mismatches, insufficient collateral and opaque custody arrangements. Silicon Valley Bank says a new generation of bitcoin lending is adopting overcollateralization, conservative loan-to-value ratios and institutional-grade underwriting, allowing holders to obtain dollar liquidity without selling their bitcoin.

A Silicon Valley Bank report dated June 25, 2026, said total crypto-backed loans reached $67 billion in the first quarter, up nearly 50% year on year. In February, Ledn completed a $188 million bitcoin-backed asset-backed securities transaction, including $160 million of Class A notes rated BBB by S&P Global. Current annual interest rates range from about 7.5% to 16%, but spreads could narrow as banks and private credit capital enter the market.