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Bitcoin lender comparison · updated June 2026

Every Bitcoin lender,
compared on what matters.

See how non-custodial, DLC-secured Bitcoin loans compare to custodial, DeFi, and multisig alternatives across pricing, security, and fees.

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APR

Lygos

10% flatany size, no tiers

Ledn

9.25–11.49%

Strike

7.49–10.5%

Nexo

10.9–17.9%by NEXO token tier

Origination fee

Lygos

$0

Ledn

2% (waived US/CA)

Strike

$0

Nexo

$0

Minimum loan

Lygos

$50,000

Ledn

$500

Strike

$10,000

Nexo

$50

Custody

Lygos

Non-custodial (DLC)

Ledn

Custodial

Strike

Custodial

Nexo

Custodial

Rehypothecation

Lygos

0% — impossible

Ledn

No (since 2025)

Strike

No

Nexo

Yes

Why comparing Bitcoin lenders matters.

Interest rates compound fast.

A 2-point APR difference on a $500,000 loan means over $10,000 in extra interest per year.

$50K/yr
10% APR
$60K/yr
12% APR

+$10,000 every year

Custody model matters.

Custodial platforms like Ledn and Nexo take possession of your BTC. Non-custodial platforms use DLCs to lock collateral on-chain.

YOUR KEYS
THEIR VAULT

Rehypothecation risk.

Some lenders re-lend your deposited Bitcoin, exposing your collateral to third-party default risk.

Your BTC
Lender
?
3rd Party

Minimums vary widely.

Nexo starts at $50 and Unchained requires $150,000. Lygos starts at $50,000 with security up to $50M.

$150KUnchained
$50KLygos
$10KStrike
$500Ledn
$50Nexo

How Lygos stacks up, by category.

Twelve full comparisons, grouped by how each lender holds your collateral.

Lygos vs. centralized lenders.

Custodial platforms that take possession of your Bitcoin for the life of the loan.

L

Lygos vs. Ledn

$0 fees + your keys vs. a 2% admin fee + custody.

  • •Lygos: $0 fees, non-custodial DLC
  • •Ledn: 2% admin fee, custodial
S

Lygos vs. SALT

Marketing says no rehypothecation — the terms allow it.

  • •Lygos: rehypothecation impossible by design
  • •SALT: terms permit repledging your coins
N

Lygos vs. Nexo

One auditable rate vs. opaque loyalty tiers.

  • •Lygos: flat 10%, verifiable on-chain
  • •Nexo: 10.9–17.9% by token tier, re-lends your BTC

Lygos vs. DeFi protocols.

Smart-contract protocols where borrowing requires wrapping your BTC (WBTC or cbBTC).

A

Lygos vs. Aave

Fixed 10% on native BTC vs. floating rates on wrapped BTC.

  • •Lygos: fixed rate, native BTC, margin call first
  • •Aave: variable rate, WBTC bridge + contract risk, instant liquidation
M

Lygos vs. Morpho

A margin call before liquidation — Morpho has none.

  • •Lygos: 15-point safety buffer, native BTC
  • •Morpho: liquidatable instantly past 86% LTV, wrapped BTC

Lygos vs. multisig lenders.

Multisig, escrow, and vault-based lenders where no single party holds the keys.

U

Lygos vs. Unchained

We lend to individuals — they stopped in 2024.

  • •Lygos: individuals + institutions, $0 fees
  • •Unchained: commercial only, 2% fee + vault costs
D

Lygos vs. Debifi

One known rate vs. whatever the marketplace offers.

  • •Lygos: 10% flat, single counterparty
  • •Debifi: ~9.5–21.5% by lender, 1.5% platform fee
F

Lygos vs. Firefish

Built for $50K–$50M vs. European retail caps.

  • •Lygos: USD loans, repay or top up anytime
  • •Firefish: EUR-focused, bullet repayment only

Any two lenders, head-to-head.

Pick a matchup — every pairing links to a full comparison page, including competitors against each other.

First lender

Non-custodial (DLC)
APR
10%
Custody
Non-custodial
Minimum loan
$50,000
Origination fee
$0
VS

Second lender

Centralized (CeFi)
APR
9.25%–11.49%
Custody
Custodial
Minimum loan
$500
Origination fee
2%
Read Lygos vs. Ledn
Aave vs. Debifi~4.4% (variable) vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRAave vs. Firefish~4.4% (variable) vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRAave vs. Morpho~4.4% (variable) vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRAave vs. Surge Credit~4.4% (variable) vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRArch vs. Aave7.75%–9% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRArch vs. Debifi7.75%–9% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRArch vs. Figure7.75%–9% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRArch vs. Firefish7.75%–9% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRArch vs. Morpho7.75%–9% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRArch vs. Strike7.75%–9% vs. 7.49%–10.5% APRArch vs. Surge Credit7.75%–9% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRDebifi vs. Firefish10%–14% (P2P) vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRDebifi vs. Surge Credit10%–14% (P2P) vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRFigure vs. Aave8.91%–11.5% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRFigure vs. Debifi8.91%–11.5% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRFigure vs. Firefish8.91%–11.5% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRFigure vs. Morpho8.91%–11.5% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRFigure vs. Surge Credit8.91%–11.5% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRFirefish vs. Surge Credit≈7%–13% (P2P) vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRLedn vs. Aave9.25%–11.49% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRLedn vs. Arch9.25%–11.49% vs. 7.75%–9% APRLedn vs. Debifi9.25%–11.49% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRLedn vs. Figure9.25%–11.49% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRLedn vs. Firefish9.25%–11.49% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRLedn vs. Morpho9.25%–11.49% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRLedn vs. Nexo9.25%–11.49% vs. 10.9%–17.9% APRLedn vs. SALT9.25%–11.49% vs. 9.95%–14.45% APRLedn vs. Strike9.25%–11.49% vs. 7.49%–10.5% APRLedn vs. Surge Credit9.25%–11.49% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRLedn vs. Unchained9.25%–11.49% vs. 14%–15% APRMorpho vs. Debifi~4.3% (variable) vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRMorpho vs. Firefish~4.3% (variable) vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRMorpho vs. Surge Credit~4.3% (variable) vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRNexo vs. Aave10.9%–17.9% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRNexo vs. Arch10.9%–17.9% vs. 7.75%–9% APRNexo vs. Debifi10.9%–17.9% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRNexo vs. Figure10.9%–17.9% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRNexo vs. Firefish10.9%–17.9% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRNexo vs. Morpho10.9%–17.9% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRNexo vs. Strike10.9%–17.9% vs. 7.49%–10.5% APRNexo vs. Surge Credit10.9%–17.9% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRSALT vs. Aave9.95%–14.45% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRSALT vs. Arch9.95%–14.45% vs. 7.75%–9% APRSALT vs. Debifi9.95%–14.45% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRSALT vs. Figure9.95%–14.45% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRSALT vs. Firefish9.95%–14.45% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRSALT vs. Morpho9.95%–14.45% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRSALT vs. Nexo9.95%–14.45% vs. 10.9%–17.9% APRSALT vs. Strike9.95%–14.45% vs. 7.49%–10.5% APRSALT vs. Surge Credit9.95%–14.45% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRStrike vs. Aave7.49%–10.5% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRStrike vs. Debifi7.49%–10.5% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRStrike vs. Figure7.49%–10.5% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRStrike vs. Firefish7.49%–10.5% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRStrike vs. Morpho7.49%–10.5% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRStrike vs. Surge Credit7.49%–10.5% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APRUnchained vs. Aave14%–15% vs. ~4.4% (variable) APRUnchained vs. Arch14%–15% vs. 7.75%–9% APRUnchained vs. Debifi14%–15% vs. 10%–14% (P2P) APRUnchained vs. Figure14%–15% vs. 8.91%–11.5% APRUnchained vs. Firefish14%–15% vs. ≈7%–13% (P2P) APRUnchained vs. Morpho14%–15% vs. ~4.3% (variable) APRUnchained vs. Nexo14%–15% vs. 10.9%–17.9% APRUnchained vs. SALT14%–15% vs. 9.95%–14.45% APRUnchained vs. Strike14%–15% vs. 7.49%–10.5% APRUnchained vs. Surge Credit14%–15% vs. 6.9% variable / 9.9% fixed APR

Frequently asked questions.

On paper, DeFi protocols are cheapest: borrowing stablecoins against wrapped Bitcoin on Aave or Morpho has recently cost a variable ~3-5% APR — but rates float with utilization, your BTC must be wrapped (adding bridge custodian risk), and there is no margin call before automatic liquidation. Among CeFi lenders, advertised rates start around 7.25-9% for very large loans (Arch, Strike, Ledn), while Nexo's 'from 1.9%' requires large NEXO token holdings and low LTV — most borrowers pay 13.9-17.9%. Lygos offers a flat 10% APR at any size from $50K to $50M with no token requirements, no origination fees, and non-custodial DLC security.

In a non-custodial model, the lender never takes possession of your BTC. Lygos uses Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) to lock collateral on the Bitcoin blockchain itself. All loan outcomes are cryptographically pre-signed before collateral is committed, and neither party can unilaterally move funds. This eliminates the custodial risk that caused losses at Celsius and BlockFi. Other non-custodial or semi-custodial approaches include multisig escrow (Debifi, Unchained), pre-signed escrow (Firefish), and threshold-signer vaults (Surge Credit) — each with different trust assumptions about who can move the collateral and when.

Minimum loan amounts vary by lender. DeFi protocols like Aave and Morpho have no minimum, Nexo starts at $50, Ledn at $500, Arch and Figure at $5,000, and Strike at $10,000 in most states. Lygos has a $50,000 minimum with the same institutional-grade DLC security available up to $50,000,000, making it accessible to individual holders while scaling to institutional borrowers.

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10% APR, $0 origination fees, and DLC-secured collateral. Compare the details that matter.

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Compare Bitcoin Lenders — Lygos vs Ledn, Strike, Figure, Aave & More