Ledn research reveals ‘collateral gap’ in Bitcoin lending as 88% express interest but only 14% borrow

Nearly nine out of ten crypto holders say they’d consider taking a loan backed by their digital assets. Fewer than one in seven actually do. That disconnect, which Ledn is calling the “collateral gap,” might be the most important number in crypto lending right now.

A survey of 1,244 crypto holders across the US and Australia, conducted by Protocol Theory for Bitcoin-focused lending platform Ledn between February 19 and February 24, 2026, found that 88% of respondents are open to crypto-backed loans. But only 14% currently use them. That’s a 6-to-1 ratio between intent and action.

Trust, not rates, is the real bottleneck

The survey found that the top concerns keeping non-users on the sidelines were trust-related. Price volatility, liquidation risk, and regulatory uncertainty ranked well above loan pricing or feature sets.

When respondents were asked what would make them more comfortable, platform reputation, risk management measures, custody safeguards, and clarity of loan terms all outranked competitive rates or flashy product features.

One bright spot in the data: 72% of respondents recognized the core value proposition of crypto-backed borrowing, which is accessing liquidity without selling long-term holdings.

A $3 billion market eyeing $1 trillion

Ledn estimates the current consumer Bitcoin-backed loan market at roughly $3 billion. The company projects that figure could balloon to $1 trillion within the next decade, a nearly 300-fold increase.

For context, the broader crypto lending market hit an all-time high of $73.6 billion in Q3 2025, according to Galaxy Research. So the consumer Bitcoin-backed segment represents a small fraction of overall lending activity.

Ledn itself has originated over $10 billion in loans since its founding in 2018. In February 2026, it issued a Bitcoin-collateralized bond valued between $188 million and $200 million that received a BBB- rating from S&P Global.

Geographic differences and the broader landscape

The survey split its respondents almost evenly between the US (621 participants) and Australia (623 participants). Australian respondents demonstrated more proactive financial planning behaviors compared to their American counterparts.

The total crypto market cap sat around $2.68 trillion as of early May 2026.