Ledn

Ledn is a developer of financial products designed to help people with digital assets, including offering interest-bearing bitcoin and USDC savings accounts that pay interest on the cryptocurrency with no minimums. Ledn also provides bitcoin-backed loans. The company's aim is to help its clients access dollars or additional bitcoin without selling existing holdings. Further, the company's platform has undergone a formal proof-of-reserves attestation to help clients feel secure in using Ledn, and that Ledn is properly accounting for client assets.

Ledn was founded in August 2018 by CEO Adam Reeds and CSO Mauricio Di Bartolomeo and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Cryptocurrency deposits through the Ledn platform earn a return from lending to Genesis Capital, a digital asset lending company, which allows users to know where the funds are going. Any funds not lent to Genesis Capital are custodied by BitGo, an insured institutional cryptocurrency custodian.

The Ledn platform is available through an internet browser on desktop and mobile and has native applications for iOS and Android. Ledn states the company works with large and respected institutions in the cryptocurrency space to offer their retail clients better risk-adjusted rates than they may otherwise receive. Also, as it is a Canadian-incorporated company, it is under strict federal laws around consumer protection and data privacy. The company offers a variety of safety features for user accounts, including BitGo, a custodian purpose-built for storing digital assets, with a comprehensive insurance policy to protect user funds.

Through Ledn's savings accounts, the company offers users a chance to earn up to 7.50 percent APY on their bitcoin and USDC. The savings accounts offer interest through Ledn's collaboration with Genesis Capital, an established lender in the digital asset space as the primary borrower for the bitcoin and USDC savings accounts. These accounts require no minimum balance and no locked-in term, intended to allow users to begin earning interest sooner while allowing users to withdraw when they need it.

Ledn offers bitcoin-backed loans to allow users to access dollars without having to sell their bitcoin. This enables users to receive a loan for the amount they need and not have to sell their digital assets, allowing the users to retain the security of their position, and it does not create a taxable event. Once the loan is repaid, the borrower's digital assets are returned to them. Further, the loans are payable at any time without penalties and without the requirement of monthly payments.

With Ledn Trade, users can trade between their bitcoin and USDC. Ledn does not charge trading fees, and the prices quoted are the prices accepted for a limited time. This allows users to take advantage of market adjustments between their bitcoin and USDC holdings as they see fit.

Ledn's B2X service is intended to help users increase their bitcoin holdings. B2X allows users to increase their bitcoin through a facilitated Ledn bitcoin-backed loan and a bitcoin purchase. The B2X offers instant execution, allowing users to instantly increase the bitcoin in their Ledn savings account. It works similar to a Bitcoin-backed loan, allowing the loan to be open for twelve months and repaying it at any time without penalty.

Ledn also offers a bitcoin-backed mortgage product, in which Ledn clients can use their Bitcoin holdings to purchase property while continuing to benefit from the potential price appreciation of both assets. Further, Ledn clients are able to blend an equal part of bitcoin and property collateral as part fo the mortgage loan, which allows the stability of the real estate to buffer the volatility of bitcoin and provide clients a window to service their bitcoin collateral during times of market volatility. The product launched in pilot mode in 2021 and was expected to be available to clients in the United States and Canada in early 2022.

In July 2022, Ledn made a competing bid for troubled cryptocurrency lender BlockFi. The company had previously been offered a sale to FTX for a rumoured $25 million, which BlockFi CEO denied agreeing to. FTX's reported offer is for a full acquisition. Whereas, Ledn's offer involves a fresh funding round supposedly for up to $400 million, including $50 million in equity, which would give Ledn a sizeable ownership stake in BlockFi.