APX Lending Secures $20M – Is Demand for Crypto-Backed Loans Rebounding?

by

APX Lending Funding: In a thrilling display of investor optimism (or maybe just plain audacity), Toronto-based APX Lending has managed to secure a modest $20 million to fuel the growing demand for “crypto-backed loans” in Canada. Yes, you read that correctly – crypto-backed loans. In Canada. The future is now, folks.

The agreement features something called an accordion facility (no, it’s not a musical instrument) courtesy of private credit investment firm Cypress Hills. This “accordion facility” thingy is designed to expand an existing credit line without the need for all that tedious renegotiation nonsense. Because who has time for that when you can just inflate things with a wave of a magical accordion? 🥳

APX Lending, never one to shy away from a good old flex, plans to use the funds to scale operations faster than a speedrunner in a video game. This comes shortly after the company managed to become the first crypto-backed loan provider in Canada to receive Exemptive Relief from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). A nice little regulatory pat on the back. 🎉

APX Lending Crypto-Backed Loans: How it Functions (Spoiler: It’s not Magic, Sadly)

Founded in early 2023 by the geniuses behind Coinberry (a well-known Canadian crypto exchange), APX Lending allows crypto holders to borrow stablecoins and other digital assets while using major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as collateral. Basically, you get to borrow money against your imaginary internet gold. Fun, right? 💰

APX ensures that your funds are stored safely (or as safe as digital funds can be) in segregated cold-storage wallets with BitGo, a crypto custodian that offers over $250 million in insurance. If that doesn’t calm your nerves, don’t worry – they also use Fireblocks for an additional $35 million of insurance coverage. It’s like a security blanket for your digital assets. A very, very expensive security blanket.

Now, while APX Lending provides visibility on loan collateral through the magic of the blockchain, it still operates within the world of Centralized Finance (CeFi), meaning they don’t trust those pesky decentralized finance platforms (DeFi) to handle their loans. Instead, they prefer to keep things cozy with a human touch—no automated smart contracts here, folks!

The timing of this funding is quite the spectacle. With Bitcoin soaring past $70,000 in early 2025, demand for crypto-backed borrowing is seeing a significant uptick. Who knew that Bitcoin’s price would become the world’s most reliable mood ring? 🥴

And as if that weren’t enough, Canadian lending is expected to grow into a massive $3.42 billion market by 2030, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.5%. Let’s all take a moment to digest that. Meanwhile, 10% of Canadians aged 18–34 have been borrowing through crypto platforms. Apparently, millennials and Gen Z have figured out how to make crypto work for them, while the rest of us are still trying to understand TikTok.

A Sector on the Rebound? (Spoiler: Yes, But Don’t Get Too Excited)

Crypto lending has had a wild ride—one that would make even the most seasoned rollercoaster enthusiast nauseous. Platforms like Celsius and BlockFi collapsed in 2022 during the infamous crypto winter, making investors question their life choices and whether they should have stuck with a savings account. The domino effect didn’t stop there, with the spectacular crashes of LUNA/UST, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX. But hey, that’s all in the past now. Probably. We think. 🙃

a “Cambrian explosion” of loans. Why? Because rates are supposed to drop so low they’ll become competitive with home equity lines of credit and other such boring financial instruments. According to Di Bartolomeo, you’ll soon be able to get a loan with your Bitcoin faster than you can say “blockchain.”

“You’re going to see a Cambrian explosion of bitcoin-backed loans, because the rates are going to drop to a point that is going to make them competitive with home equity or personal lines of credit, or other types of instruments,” Di Bartolomeo said in a recent interview to a prominent media publication.

According to DeFiLlama (which sounds like a great band name, by the way), the total value locked in crypto lending protocols has steadily climbed past $15 billion as of April 2025, up from $9.8 billion in Q4 2024. There’s a definite trend here, and it’s pointing towards a very optimistic (if slightly reckless) future.

And leading protocols like Aave, MakerDAO, and APX Lending are slowly but surely increasing lending volumes. The future of crypto-backed loans is here, and it’s looking a little more bullish than a rodeo at a Bitcoin conference. 🤠💸

Read More

2025-04-12 16:45