A thorough review of Strike bitcoin lending: custody model, loan terms, LTV, rates, fees, US availability, and how it compares to Ledn, Nexo, Coinbase Borrow, and Unchained.
Arkadii Kaminskyi
Arkadii Kaminskyi
Head of Operations at Sats Terminal
Head of Operations at Sats Terminal with 5 years of experience in crypto. Specializes in DeFi, yield farming, and borrowing — has reviewed 50+ crypto products.
Strike bitcoin lending entered the market in 2024, marking a significant expansion for a company better known as a Lightning-powered payments app. Founded by Jack Mallers and built on a Bitcoin-only philosophy, Strike has gradually grown from a peer-to-peer payment tool into a more complete financial product — one that now lets users borrow cash against their bitcoin holdings without selling them. This article is a thorough, fair-minded review of Strike's lending product: how it works, what the terms look like, who holds your BTC, which countries are supported, and how Strike stacks up against competitors like Ledn, Nexo, Coinbase Borrow, and Unchained. If you've been wondering whether Strike is the right lending partner for your bitcoin stack, read on.
Strike launched in 2020 as a consumer-facing app built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The core concept was simple: make sending and receiving bitcoin as fast and cheap as a Venmo payment. Users in the United States could link a bank account, buy bitcoin at spot price with no spread, and send payments globally via Lightning. That positioning — no altcoins, no speculation, pure Bitcoin payments — earned Strike a devoted following among Bitcoin-native users.
Jack Mallers, Strike's CEO, has been one of the most vocal advocates for Bitcoin as a monetary standard. The company partnered with major merchants, worked on remittance corridors to El Salvador (which adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021), and continued to expand its geographic footprint. By 2023, Strike had grown into a multi-product consumer app covering buying, selling, and sending bitcoin.
The move into lending was a logical next step. A large portion of Strike's user base holds bitcoin for the long term and doesn't want to sell. Lending against that collateral — getting liquidity without triggering a taxable sale — is one of the most practical use cases in the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. To understand why borrowing against your holdings is often smarter than selling, the FAQ on getting cash without selling bitcoin lays out the core logic clearly.
Strike's lending product, introduced in 2024, is a CeFi (centralized finance) offering. There are no smart contracts, no on-chain liquidation bots, and no DeFi protocols involved. Instead, Strike operates as a direct lender (or partners with institutional lending counterparties), holds your bitcoin as collateral in custody, and issues a cash loan — typically disbursed in US dollars via ACH or wire — directly to your bank account.
Understanding the mechanics of Strike's lending product matters before committing any collateral. Here is how the typical user experience unfolds.
Strike's lending product is currently available to US-based users, with geographic expansion expected over time. You need an existing Strike account in good standing with identity verification (KYC) completed. Strike is a regulated US financial product, so full KYC — government ID, Social Security Number or ITIN, and bank account verification — is required.
Strike uses a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to determine your borrowing limit. If your bitcoin is worth $100,000 and Strike's maximum LTV is 50%, you can borrow up to $50,000. The LTV you choose also affects your interest rate — lower LTV typically means a lower rate because the lender carries less liquidation risk.
You transfer bitcoin from your Strike wallet (or an external wallet) to Strike's custody. Once the transfer is confirmed on-chain, the BTC is locked as collateral. From this point, Strike holds your bitcoin. You do not maintain independent access to the private keys.
Strike disburses the loan proceeds in US dollars to your linked bank account via ACH or wire transfer. The timeline varies — ACH typically takes one to two business days; wire transfers may settle faster. There is no option to receive stablecoins directly into a self-custodial wallet, which differs from DeFi lending platforms.
Interest accrues on the outstanding balance. Strike's app shows your current LTV, interest accrued, and margin status. If the price of bitcoin falls significantly, your LTV rises. Strike will issue a margin call and require you to either repay part of the loan or deposit additional BTC to bring the LTV back within the acceptable range. If you do not act, liquidation can occur.
Once you repay the full principal plus accrued interest, Strike releases the bitcoin back to your custody. Partial repayments are typically allowed and reduce your outstanding interest obligations.
For a deeper explanation of the mechanics that apply to bitcoin-backed loans in general, see the guide on how bitcoin-backed loans work.
The comparison between a Strike bitcoin loan and a conventional bank loan is worth making explicit, because many borrowers are evaluating these side by side. For a full breakdown of this topic, the article on crypto lending vs traditional bank loans is a useful companion read.
| Feature | Strike Bitcoin Loan | Traditional Bank Loan |
|---|---|---|
| Credit check | Not required (collateral-based) | Required; affects approval and rate |
| Income verification | Not required for the loan itself | Typically required (pay stubs, tax returns) |
| Collateral type | Bitcoin only | Real estate, vehicles, brokerage accounts |
| Taxable event | No (borrowing is not a sale) | N/A |
| Speed to funding | Hours to 1-2 business days | Days to weeks |
| Application process | In-app, straightforward | Extensive documentation and underwriting |
| Interest rates | Competitive single-digit to low-teens APR | Varies widely; personal loans 8-25%+ |
| Liquidation risk | Yes, if BTC price drops sharply | Repossession if collateral loan defaults |
The key advantages of a bitcoin-backed loan are speed, no credit impact, and the preservation of your bitcoin exposure. If you believe bitcoin's long-term trajectory is upward, selling BTC to cover an expense means giving up future upside. Borrowing preserves that position. The use case around avoiding a taxable event is particularly relevant for US holders sitting on significant capital gains.
Strike has not published a comprehensive, publicly-facing rate sheet with fixed numbers as of this writing. Like most CeFi lenders, the rates are subject to market conditions, collateral levels, and potentially borrower tier. Here is what is known or reasonably reported:
Strike's bitcoin lending rates fall into the competitive single-digit to low-teens APR range depending on LTV chosen and prevailing market conditions. In a low-rate environment, rates tend to compress toward the lower end of that range; in high-rate environments (particularly when institutional borrowing demand is strong), rates can push higher. Because Strike is a CeFi product, rates may be fixed for the term or variable — confirm the current rate structure within the app before committing.
For context on what constitutes a competitive rate across the broader market, the article on crypto lending rates explained provides helpful benchmarks.
Strike typically supports LTVs up to approximately 50% at origination, with a liquidation threshold that kicks in at a higher LTV — often around 80-85%. This means if you borrow at 50% LTV, you have meaningful buffer before a margin call. At a 50% LTV on $100,000 of BTC, you'd need the price to fall roughly 37% before hitting a typical 80% liquidation threshold, assuming you don't add more collateral or repay principal. For guidance on managing this risk, see the resource on managing liquidation risk.
Strike has targeted the retail-to-affluent-individual segment. Minimum loan sizes tend to be in the range of a few thousand dollars, making the product accessible to moderate bitcoin holders. Maximum loan sizes are not formally published but are generally capped in a way that reflects the platform's CeFi risk management. Very large institutional borrowers ($1M+) typically work through dedicated over-the-counter desks or dedicated platforms.
Strike has historically been competitive on fees, consistent with its overall positioning as a low-friction product. Origination fees, if any, are typically disclosed within the app during the loan application flow. There are no spread-based purchase fees when using Strike's lending product (unlike some platforms that embed margin into asset purchases). Confirm current fee structure directly in the app, as these details can change.
This is one of the most important questions any bitcoin lender must answer clearly. Strike's lending model is custodial. When you pledge BTC as collateral, you transfer it to Strike's custody — the company holds the private keys, not you. This is fundamentally different from non-custodial or self-custodial lending, where your keys remain under your control.
The guide on custodial vs non-custodial lending explains the tradeoffs in detail. The short version: custodial lending is simpler and familiar (similar to depositing funds at a bank), but introduces counterparty risk. If Strike were to experience financial distress, regulatory seizure, or a security breach, your collateral could be at risk.
Strike has not disclosed full public details about its custody infrastructure — such as whether it uses a qualified custodian, hardware security modules, or a multisig arrangement. This is a gap in transparency compared to platforms like Unchained, which explicitly offers collaborative multisig custody. Bitcoiners who are deeply sovereign-focused about custody may find this opaque.
What Strike has said publicly is consistent with institutional-grade custody practices: segregated collateral, cold storage for the majority of holdings, and insurance. However, absent a published proof-of-reserves or third-party audit attestation, users are operating on trust in the institution.
Strike operates in the United States under existing financial regulations. Jack Mallers has been engaged with US regulators and has been publicly vocal about the importance of clear Bitcoin policy. Strike's regulatory standing is one of its genuine strengths compared to offshore CeFi lenders — US-based operations are subject to consumer protection frameworks that may not apply to lenders domiciled in places like the Cayman Islands or Seychelles.
One of the ironies of Strike's lending product is that the company is well-known for enabling Lightning Network payments — a technology that epitomizes self-sovereign, instant, low-fee bitcoin transfers. The lending product, by contrast, requires giving up custody. Strike is aware of this tension and has positioned the lending product as a practical, regulated offering for users who need liquidity and are comfortable with a trusted counterparty. It is not a contradiction of Strike's Bitcoin mission so much as an acknowledgment that different products serve different needs.
The application process is designed to be quick for existing Strike users. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of what to expect.
After disbursement, the Strike app provides a dashboard showing your current LTV, interest accrued to date, and margin status. Enable push notifications to receive alerts if BTC price movements push your LTV toward the margin call threshold. Acting quickly on margin calls — either by repaying principal or depositing additional BTC — is critical to avoiding forced liquidation.
To put Strike in context, here is how it compares to four major alternatives: Ledn, Nexo, Coinbase Borrow, and Unchained. Each has a distinct model, target user, and set of tradeoffs. For a broader look at the lending landscape, the 2025 complete guide to bitcoin borrowing covers many of these platforms in depth.
| Feature | Strike | Ledn | Nexo | Coinbase Borrow | Unchained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custody model | CeFi custodial | CeFi custodial | CeFi custodial | CeFi custodial | Collaborative multisig |
| Assets accepted | BTC only | BTC, USDC | BTC + altcoins | BTC only | BTC only |
| Max LTV | ~50% | 50% | Up to 50-70% | ~40% | ~40-50% |
| Interest rate range | Single-digit to low-teens APR | Single-digit to ~12% APR | Variable; can be low with NEXO token | Disclosed in app; competitive | ~12-14%+ APR historically |
| Loan currency | USD (bank account) | USD, USDC | Fiat + stablecoins | USD (bank account) | USD (bank account) |
| KYC required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| US availability | Yes | Limited US access | Limited US access | Yes (select states) | Yes |
| Bitcoin-only philosophy | Yes | Primarily BTC-focused | No (altcoins) | BTC product only | Yes |
| Proof of reserves | Not published | Published regularly | Published | Coinbase public audits | Collaborative multisig visible |
| Min loan size | ~$1,000-$2,000 | ~$500 | ~$50 | ~$1,000 | ~$10,000+ |
A few key observations from this comparison:
The comparison between centralized and decentralized approaches to bitcoin lending is a longer conversation. For a thorough look at the structural differences, see the article on CeFi vs DeFi crypto lending.
Borrow by Sats Terminal is a bitcoin-backed lending aggregator that compares loan offers across both DeFi protocols (Aave v3, Morpho Blue) and is expanding its CeFi integrations. It is a different kind of tool than Strike — not a direct lender, but a platform that lets you compare and access multiple lenders from a single interface. Understanding how the two relate helps you make better borrowing decisions.
Borrow surfaces loan offers from multiple sources simultaneously. Where Strike gives you one rate from one lender, Borrow shows you the competitive landscape across protocols — letting you see whether Aave, Morpho, or another available lender offers better terms for your specific situation. This is especially valuable when market conditions shift: DeFi rates fluctuate with protocol utilization, and the best rate today may not be from the same source as the best rate next month.
Borrow also handles the technical complexity of DeFi — cross-chain bridging, wrapping BTC into wBTC, BTCB, or cbBTC, and routing collateral to the right protocol — automatically. Users deposit BTC and receive stablecoins (USDC or USDT) without needing to manage wallets, bridges, or protocol interfaces manually. For borrowers who want stablecoin proceeds rather than USD bank transfers, Borrow is a natural complement to Strike.
One of the most meaningful differences is that Borrow requires no KYC and is non-custodial. Users maintain control over their assets at every step — Borrow cannot move funds without user authorization. For borrowers who want some liquidity in DeFi (stablecoins, no custody transfer) and some in CeFi (USD to bank account via Strike), using both tools in parallel is entirely reasonable.
To understand how lending aggregators work and why they often surface better rates than going directly to a single lender, see how lending aggregators find best rates. And if you're new to the concept of borrowing against bitcoin broadly, the FAQ on bitcoin-backed loans is a good starting point before evaluating any specific lender.
These tools are not mutually exclusive. Sophisticated borrowers may use Strike for their primary USD liquidity need and Borrow for a separate DeFi-based borrowing position — gaining rate diversity, custody diversity, and currency flexibility across their overall borrowing strategy.
Common Questions
As of 2025, Strike's bitcoin lending product is available to US-based users only. Strike has a presence in other markets for its payment and buying products, but the lending feature requires US identity verification and a linked US bank account. International users looking for bitcoin-backed loans should consider Ledn, which serves many non-US markets, or DeFi-based options that are accessible globally without geographic restrictions.
