Bitcoin lending platform Ledn has completed a first-of-its-kind sale of $188 million in bonds tied to Bitcoin-collateralized loans into the mainstream asset-backed securities market. The deal, structured through the Ledn Issuer Trust 2026-1, securitizes thousands of U.S. consumer loans backed by over 4,000 BTC. Institutional investors demanded an extra 3.35 percentage points in yield for the investment-grade portion, reflecting the perceived risk of this new crypto-linked credit exposure.
Ledn has sold approximately $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin-collateralized consumer loans into the traditional asset-backed securities market. This landmark deal was structured through the Ledn Issuer Trust 2026-1, which pools 5,441 short-term loans to U.S. borrowers backed by 4,078.87 Bitcoin as collateral.
The investment-grade portion of the bond reportedly priced at a spread of roughly 335 basis points over a benchmark rate. S&P Global Ratings assigned preliminary BBB- and B- ratings to the $160 million senior and $28 million subordinated notes, respectively.
Jefferies Financial Group acted as the sole structuring agent and bookrunner for the transaction. This move signals Wall Street’s growing intermediation between institutional fixed-income investors and crypto-linked financial products.
Analysts view the successful issuance as a sign of Bitcoin’s acceptance as legitimate collateral. “Bitcoin is increasingly being integrated into traditional finance as the new pristine collateral,” said Bitwise head of research Europe, Andre Dragosch.
He pointed to major banks like JPMorgan offering similar BTC-backed loans as further evidence. Dragosch noted these loans typically feature low loan-to-value ratios, which contributes to a low default rate.
Research lead at Four Pillars, Jinsol Bok, highlighted the potential for market growth. He stated this structure allows locked liquidity to be expanded into new lending, suggesting the BTC-collateralized lending market could grow beyond its current size.
Bok added that unlike traditional mortgages, BTC-backed loans offer transparency through on-chain tracking and programmable liquidation. “For this reason, I believe that the risks associated with ABS in this context do not need to be excessively overstated,” he said.
Investors in these bonds are not buying Bitcoin directly but are taking on the credit risk of the loan pool. Their returns depend on borrower repayments and the effective management of the Bitcoin collateral during market stress.
Founded in 2018, Ledn has funded over $9.5 billion in loans globally. The company received a strategic investment from Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, in November 2025.
