Bitcoin sits in cold storage for millions. Its owners watch the price climb, crash and recover. They refuse to sell. Yet when cash calls, many hesitate to tap the obvious solution: borrow against those holdings.
A new survey exposes the contradiction. Yahoo Finance reported in June that 88% of crypto holders in the U.S. and Australia would consider a loan backed by their digital assets. Only 14% actually do. The gap stands at six to one. Ledn, the Bitcoin-focused lending platform that commissioned the work with research firm Protocol Theory, calls it the “collateral gap.”
The numbers come from 1,244 respondents. They paint a picture of long-term believers who treat Bitcoin like family property. Not a lottery ticket. Not something to flip at the first sign of trouble.
Trust, not rates, decides who borrows
Those who stay on the sidelines worry most about volatility and liquidation. They fret over unclear rules from regulators. Having too little Bitcoin barely registers as a barrier. What matters far more? Clear terms. A solid reputation. Proven risk controls. A track record that survives scrutiny.
Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn, put it directly. “Bitcoin is now held by tens of millions of people, managed by regulated institutions, and covered by major ratings agencies — yet collateralised borrowing against it is still in very early innings compared to any traditional asset class of this size,” he told Yahoo Finance. “The demand side of the equation is solved. What’s still catching up is the trust infrastructure that gives borrowers the confidence to act.”
His firm has originated more than $10 billion in loans since 2018. It publishes proof-of-reserves reports, holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification and earned the first S&P rating on a Bitcoin-backed securitization. Still, the broader market lags. Consumer Bitcoin-backed lending hovers near $3 billion. Total crypto lending reached $73.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025, according to Galaxy Research data cited in another Yahoo Finance report.
Ledn sees a path to $1 trillion in Bitcoin-backed loans within the next decade. The projection rests on closing that trust divide. After the 2022 collapses of Celsius, Voyager and BlockFi, many holders remember the pain. They watched platforms fail. They saw liquidations cascade. Confidence took years to rebuild.
But look at the 14% who do borrow. They don’t reach for emergency funds. They act with calculation. Sixty-two percent use the proceeds to buy even more Bitcoin. Just 1% sell any. These borrowers know leverage. They accumulate for the long haul. They treat their crypto as productive capital rather than a static store of value.
And. The behavior mirrors how wealthy families have long operated in traditional markets. They borrow against stocks or real estate. They avoid taxable sales. They keep exposure to upside. Bitcoin holders now chase the same logic. But friction remains high.
Recent developments point to wider acceptance. Fannie Mae now accepts Bitcoin and stablecoins like USDC as collateral for conventional mortgages. Coinbase partners with lender Better on a pilot program. The waitlist tells its own story.
“We’ve actually seen really, really strong interest,” Mark Troianovski, Coinbase’s head of business development, said in Yahoo Finance. “Every single person on the waitlist is a story of someone, like you or me, that’s just been sitting on [crypto] for years and now is like, ‘Oh, I can actually use this to do something very useful, which is put a roof over my head.'”
Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better, sees the bigger picture. “This isn’t just about bitcoin, this is about any tokenized asset,” he explained in the same report. He noted that 41% of his customers previously failed to qualify for homes due to lack of down-payment cash. The opportunity spans beyond crypto. U.S. households hold $35 trillion in stocks and bonds. Only $5 trillion sits in bank accounts ready for immediate use.
Platforms such as Milo have already originated more than $100 million in crypto-backed mortgages. Some loans reach $12 million. Rates run 50 to 150 basis points above conventional mortgages. Collateral requirements stay conservative. Bitcoin pledges often need to cover 250% of the financed amount. The buffers protect against sharp drops. Yet they also limit accessibility for smaller holders.
Other lenders experiment with fixed rates and no margin calls. Strike recently launched volatility-resistant Bitcoin loans at rates up to 14.2%. Discussions on X highlight growing interest in transparent smart-contract solutions that reduce reliance on centralized platforms. One recent post noted Hashi’s effort to bring BTC into DeFi lending through verifiable logic rather than opaque custody.
Regulatory signals add complexity. The IRS treats digital asset lending as reportable. Banking guidelines from bodies like OSFI in Canada outline capital requirements for crypto exposures. These rules bring clarity for institutions. They also raise compliance costs that smaller platforms struggle to absorb.
Still, the trend builds. Holders no longer view Bitcoin solely as speculation. National Cryptocurrency Association surveys show rising everyday use. Forty-one percent send crypto to friends and family. Forty percent spend it on goods. More than half say they want better ways to earn yield or rewards.
The collateral gap won’t close overnight. Volatility still dominates headlines. Liquidation fears linger from past cycles. Yet each successful mortgage closed with Bitcoin collateral chips away at skepticism. Each rated securitization adds legitimacy. Each executive who speaks openly about demand, like Di Bartolomeo or Troianovski, normalizes the conversation.
So the question shifts. Not whether holders want liquidity without selling. The survey settled that. The real test lies in whether lenders, regulators and technology builders can deliver products sophisticated holders trust enough to use at scale. If they do, that $1 trillion forecast stops looking like hype. It starts to look inevitable.
Bitcoin holders already decided. They want the loan. Now the industry must prove it deserves their confidence.
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