Retail loans added over $100 million, totaling $690 million.
Crypto lender Ledn has reported over $690 million in loans in the first quarter of 2024. Institutional borrowers accounted for $584 million, while retail loans comprised $100 million, with $40 million tied to refinancing following the Celsius network collapse.
The surge in Ledn’s loan processing coincides with the approval of Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in the US and a bullish BTC market. The company provided substantial loans to ETF market makers, contributing to this quarter’s success.
“The first quarter of 2024 has set the tone for a promising year for Ledn, as we’ve not only doubled our loan book since November 2022 but have also solidified our leading position in the market by adapting to the increasing demand for digital asset financial products,” said Adam Reeds, CEO of Ledn. “We will continue to make every effort to educate and empower clients to make informed decisions around digital assets, and we look forward to the market continuing to place trust in us.”
Following the bankruptcy of Celsius, Ledn’s refinancing program attracted significant attention, securing $40 million in refinanced loans. This represents a significant portion of the total refinanced amount, underscoring the trust the community places in Ledn.
Ledn’s performance is reflective of a broader recovery in the crypto lending sector, with Coinbase also reporting a rise in loan processing in its Q4 2023 shareholder letter.
Moreover, the total borrowed on decentralized applications jumped $7.1 billion in Q1, and $8.36 billion (144%) in quarter-on-quarter, according to data aggregator DefiLlama. John Glover, Ledn CIO, this movement is propelled by a demand for dollar funding.
“My personal view is that this jump in loan volume is a combination of the widespread demand in Q1 for dollar funding in both TradFi and Crypto, coupled with an assumption that 2022/23 took the majority of bad actors/irresponsible management out of the ecosystem, so that the likelihood of another FTX/BlockFi event is very low.”
