Have Bitcoin? Need Cash? Strike Launches New Product Allowing Users To Borrow Up To $2 Million
The thought of selling Bitcoin BTC/USD makes you feel squeamish? Strike, a cryptocurrency payments firm, has launched a new lending product that allows users to take out loans using the world's largest cryptocurrency as collateral.What Happened: The firm's CEO, Jack Mallers, took to X, explaining how the new offering would work.Like other credit-financing mechanisms, Bitcoin-backed loans involve temporarily pledging held BTC as secure collateral and receiving a cash loan, to be repaid with interest. The larger the loan, the more collateral is required.For a 12-month loan, the interest rates begin at 12%, with a minimum borrowing amount of $75,000 and a maximum of $2 million. The loan-to-value ratio will be set at 50%, suggesting that the loans will be overcollateralized.Strike cautioned that due to Bitcoin's price volatility, the collateral value could diminish, limiting the lender's ability to recover funds. In the event of a liquidation, the collateral could be sold to meet the loan-to-value ratio requirement.Strive said the feature is available in select U.S. states with plans of expansion in the future.Disclosure: 82% of retail CFD accounts lose moneySee Also: Maxine Waters Plans Walkout From Crypto Hearing, Will Host ‘Shadow Hearing’ Opposing Trump Family Ventures: ReportWhy It Matters: Strike was not the first mainstream trading app allowing users to borrow against their Bitcoin holdings. Cryptocurrency behemoth Coinbase Global Inc. COIN launched a similar offering earlier in January.Additionally, decentralized lending protocol Aave AAVE/USD allows users to access liquidity by supplying their Bitcoin.Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $96,666.47, up 2.42% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.Photo Courtesy: PV productions On Shutterstock.comRead Next: Two Dormant Bitcoin Whales Move $325 Million After A Decade: What’s Going On? Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.