Crypto lender Ledn said it processed $506 million in loan transactions during the third quarter, according to an Oct. 21 statement shared with CryptoSlate.

According to the firm, $437.7 million in loans were issued to institutional clients, while loans to retail clients climbed 225% year-over-year to $68.9 million. This surge in retail loans is credited to the Celsius refinancing program, the launch of crypto ETFs, and a period of reduced market volatility.

Ledn has processed $1.67 billion in loans year-to-date, comprising $258.7 million for retail users and $1.41 billion for institutions.

Since its founding in 2018, Ledn has facilitated over $6.5 billion in loans across both retail and institutional markets.

What is driving demand?

Ledn attributed the rising demand for its services to the growing need for digital asset-backed lending as more significant players explore alternative financing options. This increase is influenced by tighter monetary policies and fierce competition for dollar-based funding.

Ledn also noted that the third quarter’s growth followed strong momentum in the second quarter, which saw increased demand driven by notable market events. These included April’s Bitcoin halving, which cut mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, and the introduction of Ethereum ETFs in Asia.

The company further emphasized that macroeconomic conditions such as rising inflation, economic uncertainty, and the need for portfolio diversification contributed to the surge in demand.

Ledn CIO John Glover highlighted that institutional demand spiked in July. Notably, this was around when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Ethereum ETFs for trading in the US.

Meanwhile, Glover pointed out that the market is still searching for the next catalyst to push Bitcoin’s price to a new all-time high. He suggested that the upcoming US elections could potentially be that trigger.

He stated:

“It seems like a lot of hope is being placed on the November elections to be this catalyst. Institutional borrowing demand has also been fairly consistent with the overall ETF demand, where there was a similar jump in July.”

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