Ledn, a crypto lender focused on bitcoin-backed borrowing, is rolling out a new monthly disclosure package it says is meant to become a transparency baseline for a market that is drawing fresh interest from banks — and still carries the scars of the 2022 lending blowups.
The company said its “Open Book Report” will publish standardized metrics on its bitcoin-collateralized loan book, including outstanding loans, collateral posted and aggregate loan-to-value ratios, with figures compiled and presented by The Network Firm LLP, a U.S.-based accounting firm. Ledn is positioning the effort as a response to what it views as an emerging risk: traditional financial institutions moving into bitcoin-backed lending while key questions around collateral handling, rehypothecation and liquidation mechanics remain opaque.
The push comes as some large lenders and brokerages have signaled interest in crypto-collateralized credit products. JPMorgan Chase, for instance, has explored offering loans backed by clients’ cryptocurrency holdings as early as next year, the Financial Times reported in July, according to Reuters.
A post-2022 trust gap — with bigger balance sheets in view
The last crypto credit cycle ended with a cascade of failures among lenders that promised high yields and relied on leverage, maturity mismatches and, in some cases, limited disclosure around how customer assets were deployed. Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 after freezing withdrawals, and Voyager and BlockFi later followed as crypto markets deteriorated and counterparties failed.
Ledn’s chief investment officer, John Glover — a former Barclays managing director — warned that the next crisis could be “a 2022-style lending crisis at institutional scale” if borrowers and depositors can’t see whether their collateral is being reused to generate yield. The argument is straightforward: if collateral can be rehypothecated without clear disclosure, customers can become an unpriced source of leverage.
What Ledn is disclosing — and what it isn’t
Ledn says the new Open Book Report is designed to move past one-off “proof of reserves” snapshots by adding monthly updates to its loan-book health metrics, alongside its longer-running proof-of-reserves program.
In the first monthly report, the company disclosed $868 million in outstanding BTC-backed loans, backed by 18,488 BTC of posted collateral, with an average loan-to-value ratio of 55% — below common liquidation thresholds used in collateralized lending.
Ledn also pointed to its scale since inception — $10.2 billion in lifetime loans and about 47,000 loans funded — and said it has maintained a “perfect track record” of protecting client assets.
Crucially, Ledn is explicitly marketing its collateral model as “custodied, never lent out,” saying monthly reporting is intended to show that bitcoin posted as collateral remains in on-chain addresses and/or custodial accounts.
At the same time, Ledn’s own disclosures emphasize a limitation that sophisticated investors will notice: The Network Firm’s monthly reporting is not described as an audit, review, or attestation engagement and “does not express any form of assurance” under AICPA or PCAOB standards. In other words, it’s independent reporting of selected metrics rather than a full-scope assurance opinion.
Regulatory backdrop: standards still moving
Ledn’s timing also reflects a shifting — and uneven — regulatory landscape.
Globally, the Basel Committee’s cryptoasset framework has been under pressure, with its chair calling for a rethink of stringent capital treatment, including the widely discussed 1,250% risk weight for certain crypto exposures. The Financial Times reported that U.S. and U.K. authorities have resisted implementing elements of the framework as drafted, complicating global alignment.
Separately, IOSCO has urged regulators to apply “same activity, same risk, same regulation” principles to crypto markets — including expectations around custody, conflicts, and disclosures — and in 2025 published work reviewing how jurisdictions are implementing its recommendations.
In the U.K., the Financial Conduct Authority this week opened a broad consultation on proposed crypto rules that include requirements touching staking, lending, and borrowing, with the government aiming to bring the sector into formal regulation starting in October 2027.
Tether deal adds spotlight
Ledn’s transparency campaign arrives shortly after the lender took a strategic investment from stablecoin issuer Tether. While Ledn and Tether have framed the investment as support for expanding bitcoin-backed lending, the deal also places a larger spotlight on how lenders manage collateral and liquidity — the very issues at the heart of Ledn’s “open book” push.
For Ledn, the bet is that voluntary, repeatable disclosure becomes a competitive moat — and a yardstick that banks entering bitcoin-backed credit will be compared against — before regulators force a standardized playbook.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were drafted with the assistance of AI tools and subsequently reviewed, edited, and verified by the author and our editorial team to ensure accuracy and journalistic integrity. The final version reflects human editorial judgment and fact-checking.
