Ledn Closes $188M Bitcoin-Backed Bond Deal – Is Crypto Credit Back From the Dead?

Ahmed Balaha

Thu, February 19, 2026 at 10:12 PM GMT+9 2 min read

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Ledn just pulled off something big.

The company closed a $188M sale of Bitcoin backed bonds. It is the first time institutional style asset backed securities have been built from consumer crypto loans.

Part of the deal includes investment grade notes priced at 335 basis points over the benchmark rate. That puts it firmly in traditional finance place.

The Deal: Ledn sold $188 million in bonds secured by over 4,000 BTC, bridging retail lending with capital markets.

The Rating: S&P Global rated the majority of the notes BBB-, citing volatility risks despite significant overcollateralization.

The Player: Investment banking heavyweight Jefferies Financial Group acted as the sole structuring agent and bookrunner.

Is This a Turning Point for Crypto Credit?

After BlockFi and Celsius collapsed in 2022, trust in crypto lending was destroyed. Institutions backed off. Ledn closing a $188M deal now shows that appetite for regulated, transparent yield is coming back.

Big money wants structure.

Sovereign funds are already stacking Bitcoin. Now firms like Ledn are packaging crypto loans into traditional securities. That makes crypto credit look a lot more familiar to Wall Street.

Since 2018, Ledn has originated billions in loans. And it is clearly positioning itself as the careful player that survived the mess, not the one that caused it.

Breaking Down the Bond Mechanics

The bonds are backed by 4,078.87 BTC. That stash was worth about $356.9M when S&P reviewed it. Solid collateral on paper.

S&P gave most of the deal a BBB- rating. Not bad. But their stress test assumed a brutal 79% default rate at the “A” level. Even with investment grade pricing on the senior notes, Bitcoin volatility keeps the rating grounded.

Jefferies ran the books, which brings real Wall Street weight to the table. Structurally, the deal is tight. A 5% liquidity reserve. Automated liquidations kick in below 81.4% LTV.

That kind of discipline is rare in crypto lending.

Still, volatility does not disappear. When Bitcoin dipped to $60,000, Ledn had to liquidate some loans to protect buffers. The original 2x overcollateralization shrank slightly.

This is structured. Professional. But it still rides on Bitcoin.

The success of this bond sale proves traditional finance is willing to engage with crypto-backed products if the structure mimics familiar asset-backed securities (ABS). It marks a convergence of crypto assets and traditional financial plumbing.

Discover: Here are the crypto likely to explode!

Read original story Ledn Closes $188M Bitcoin-Backed Bond Deal – Is Crypto Credit Back From the Dead? by Ahmed Balaha at Cryptonews.com

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