Fixed-Rate Bitcoin Loans Find New Footing After 2022's CeFi Collapses

Against the backdrop of the centralized-lender failures of 2022, the crypto-backed loan market has been repricing risk and, slowly, rebuilding. Figure Lending LLC (NMLS #1717824), a licensed U.S. lender headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is now offering fixed-rate loans against Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana collateral at loan-to-value ratios of up to 75%, with rates starting at 8.91% and a maximum APR of 12.62%.

The product's terms

The structure is a 12-month, interest-only loan with a 1% origination fee. Figure advances up to 75% of the collateral's value, same-day, with approval based on collateral rather than credit score. At 50% LTV the rate is 8.91% (9.999% APR); at up to 75% LTV it rises to 11.50% (12.62% APR). Using the company's representative example, a $10,000 loan at 50% LTV carries 12 monthly payments of $74.25.

Liquidation is where the real risk concentrates in any collateralized crypto product. A sharp price drop can trigger a forced sale at an inopportune moment. Figure offers optional Liquidation Protection, which defers price-based margin calls for the loan term. That protection is available in ten states only: California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Utah. Missed payments can still trigger liquidation regardless.

After 2022: what licensing means now

The CeFi collapse of 2022 put real weight on the distinction between a "crypto lender" and a "licensed lender." Several unregulated offshore platforms held client collateral with no supervisory backstop. When liquidity failed, borrowers had little recourse. Figure Lending's NMLS registration places it inside the U.S. regulated lending framework, a materially different risk profile from the offshore operators that failed.

The borrowing mechanism itself has not changed. A holder pledges $BTC or other assets; a lender advances cash; ownership of the collateral stays with the borrower throughout. Because no sale occurs, the transaction generally does not trigger a capital-gains event, though liquidation does constitute a taxable sale under IRS rules.

The macro read-through

Crypto-backed lending functions, in effect, as a shadow repo market for digital assets. Demand for it tends to track periods when Bitcoin has appreciated sharply and long-term holders want liquidity without the tax and upside cost of selling. The arrival of fixed-rate, licensed products narrows the spread between crypto credit and conventional secured lending, a sector-wide shift that is still early. A separate entity, Figure Markets Credit LLC, extends the product to New York residents and international borrowers under a different structure, with its own list of excluded jurisdictions.

The product is currently unavailable to residents of ten U.S. states, among them Texas, Illinois, Virginia, and Kentucky.

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