The only major US-regulated Bitcoin lender where you hold a key on your collateral through 2-of-3 multisig. $150K minimum, ~14.2% APR. Expensive money for structural custody safety.
Unchained is the gold standard for custody on a Bitcoin loan. It is also the most expensive, the highest minimum, and the most operationally complex. Those tradeoffs are intentional: Unchained is not trying to be Strike or Ledn. It is trying to be the one lender where you actually hold a key on your collateral.
The structure: every Unchained loan creates a new 2-of-3 multisig wallet. You hold one key (on your own hardware wallet). Unchained holds one. Citadel SPV, an independent third-party key agent, holds the third. To move your Bitcoin for any reason (liquidation, repayment release, margin call) two of three keys must sign. No single party can act unilaterally. Not Unchained. Not Citadel. Not you.
Founded in 2017 in Austin, Texas, Unchained is US-headquartered and regulated under state lending laws. The company survived the 2022 lending crisis cleanly because its multisig structure made the BlockFi-style failure mode (rehypothecation of customer collateral) structurally impossible. There is no rehypothecation pool to go underwater when your collateral sits in a 2-of-3 wallet you partly control.
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Custody model | 10/10 | 2-of-3 multisig with client holding one key. No single-party risk. |
| Transparency | 9/10 | On-chain multisig auditability, US-regulated, established 2017 track record |
| Regulatory record | 10/10 | Clean record, US-regulated under state lending laws |
| Rate transparency | 8/10 | Fixed APR, clear fee structure, but origination fee applies |
| Accessibility | 5/10 | $150K minimum excludes retail; high-net-worth product by design |
| Overall | 9/10 | Gold-standard custody at premium price; not for retail |
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| APR | ~14.2% fixed |
| Minimum loan | $150,000 USD |
| Maximum loan | $10M+ (institutional) |
| Max LTV | 40-60% (depends on term) |
| Margin call LTV | ~70-75% |
| Liquidation LTV | ~80-85% |
| Custody model | 2-of-3 multisig (client holds 1 key) |
| Key agent | Citadel SPV (independent third party) |
| Origination fee | Yes (0.5-1.5%) |
| Accepted collateral | Bitcoin only |
| Hardware wallet support | Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox, Foundation Passport |
| KYC required | Yes |
| Availability | US (state-dependent), limited international |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas (US-regulated) |
| Founded | 2017 |
The 2022 Bitcoin lending crisis killed BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager. The shared cause: customer collateral was held in custodial wallets that the lender controlled entirely. When the lender went insolvent (or rehypothecated and lost the collateral through bad bets) customers had no recourse. Their Bitcoin was on a single-key wallet controlled by an entity that no longer existed.
Unchained loans cannot fail this way. Your Bitcoin sits in a 2-of-3 multisig wallet. You hold one of the three keys. Even if Unchained ceased operating tomorrow, your Bitcoin would not be trapped. You would coordinate with Citadel SPV (the third-party key agent) to sign a recovery transaction with two of the three keys, returning the Bitcoin to your own custody. The operational coordination might take weeks. The structural outcome is recovery, not bankruptcy claim filing.
The same structure also makes rehypothecation impossible. Unchained cannot lend out your collateral to generate yield, because it cannot move the Bitcoin without your cooperation or Citadel SPV cooperation. That is why Unchained APRs are higher: the business cannot subsidize loans with rehypothecation revenue. You are paying the honest cost of capital.
The custodial spectrum, three credible US-regulated options for different borrower profiles.
| Parameter | Unchained | Strike | Ledn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum loan | $150,000 | $10,000 | $500 |
| APR | ~14.2% | ~9.5% | 10.4-11.4% |
| Custody | 2-of-3 multisig (you hold key) | Custodial, no rehypo | Segregated or rehypo |
| You hold a key | Yes | No | No |
| Bankruptcy survivability | Yes (you have key) | Recovery via segregated custody | Recovery via segregated custody |
| Origination fee | Yes | No | No |
| KYC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Unchained wins on custody (you hold a key, structural bankruptcy survivability). Strike wins on price (lower APR, no origination fee). Ledn wins on accessibility ($500 minimum). For a six-figure borrower who values custody safety over rate, the decision is Unchained. For everyone else, Strike or Ledn.
Unchained earns 9/10. The custody model is genuinely best-in-class among major US-regulated Bitcoin lenders. You hold a key. No single party can move your Bitcoin. Bankruptcy of Unchained does not trap your collateral. That structural guarantee is rare enough to be the entire reason to use this lender.
What holds it back from 10/10: the $150K minimum and ~14.2% APR are real costs. Most borrowers cannot use Unchained at all. Those who can are paying meaningful premium over Strike (~9.5%) or Ledn (10.4-11.4%) for the multisig structure. If you trust your counterparty enough to be custodial, those alternatives are economically better.
Use Unchained if you have $150K+ in Bitcoin, are comfortable managing a hardware wallet key, and want US regulatory compliance plus actual custody. Use Strike or Ledn if price matters more than custody. Use Hodl Hodl / Debifi if you want non-custodial structure without KYC.
Generate your key on your hardware wallet, complete KYC, deposit Bitcoin collateral into multisig, receive USD. $150K minimum.
Unchained loans are collateralized by a 2-of-3 multisig wallet where you hold one of the three keys. Unchained holds one. A third-party key agent (Citadel SPV) holds the third. No single party can move your Bitcoin alone. That is a structural guarantee no other major US-regulated lender offers. Compare to Strike, Ledn, and Nexo, which all hold your Bitcoin in their own custody. With Unchained, even in the worst case (Unchained bankruptcy, fraud, key compromise) you still hold a key and can coordinate recovery with the remaining signers.
Approximately 14.2% APR as of 2026. Unchained is not the cheapest option. Strike runs at ~9.5%, Ledn at 10.4-11.4%, Nexo as low as 2.9% (with conditions). Unchained costs more because the multisig structure is more operationally expensive. You are paying for custody safety, not for the cheapest money. If price is your only metric, this is not the right lender.
$150,000. This is the highest minimum among major Bitcoin lenders by a wide margin. Strike starts at $10,000, Ledn at $500, Nexo at $50. Unchained's minimum reflects its target market: high-net-worth individuals and businesses, not retail borrowers. If you have less than $150K in Bitcoin and want a loan, Unchained is not for you.
Maximum LTV ranges from 40% to 60% depending on loan type and term. Margin call triggers at ~70-75% LTV. Liquidation triggers at ~80-85% LTV. The conservative thresholds and lower max LTV mean Unchained borrowers have a meaningful buffer against Bitcoin volatility.
When you take a loan, Unchained creates a new 2-of-3 multisig wallet. You hold one key (typically on your own hardware wallet like Trezor or Coldcard). Unchained holds one key. Citadel SPV (the third-party key agent) holds the third. To move the Bitcoin (for liquidation, repayment release, or any other reason) two of the three keys must sign. Routine repayments use a pre-signed transaction structure that you approve. Liquidations require coordinated signing between Unchained and Citadel SPV, and that coordination is on-chain and auditable.
Yes, primarily. Unchained is US-headquartered (Austin, Texas) and US-regulated under state lending laws. Service is available in most US states; check Unchained's site for your specific state. International availability is more limited.
This is the multisig advantage. If Unchained bankrupts, your Bitcoin is in a 2-of-3 wallet where you still hold one key and Citadel SPV holds another. You can coordinate with Citadel SPV to recover your Bitcoin without Unchained's participation, because two of three signatures are enough. The risk is operational (coordinating with Citadel SPV, ensuring you have your key secure) rather than structural (your Bitcoin being part of a bankruptcy estate). Compare to Strike, Ledn, or Nexo, where bankruptcy could trap your collateral in a multi-year recovery proceeding.
Strike offers lower APR (~9.5%) and $10K minimum but is fully custodial. Ledn offers $500 minimum, 10.4-11.4% APR with a Custodied product that segregates assets but you still do not hold a key. Hodl Hodl/Debifi offers 3-of-4 multisig (one extra key, slightly more robust) with no KYC required but with thinner liquidity and a P2P matching model. Unchained sits at the high end: highest minimum, highest APR, but US-regulated, well-established (founded 2017), and gives you a multisig key on collateral. For high-net-worth US borrowers who want regulatory compliance plus custody safety, Unchained is essentially unique.
Yes, and you should. Unchained supports all major hardware wallets including Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox, and Foundation Passport. Generating your key on your own air-gapped hardware wallet means Unchained never sees your private key. The whole security model depends on you actually controlling your key, so do not store it in a custodial wallet or in cloud backup. If you do not understand how to manage a hardware wallet key safely, Unchained is not the right lender for you yet.
Good for: borrowers with $150K+ in Bitcoin who value custody safety over the cheapest rate, who already use hardware wallets, who want a US-regulated counterparty, and who are willing to pay 14%+ APR for structural security. Look elsewhere if: you need a smaller loan (use Ledn or Strike), you want the absolute lowest rate (use Strike), you want no KYC (use Hodl Hodl/Debifi or Surge Credit), or you do not have hardware wallet experience.
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Full comparison of every major Bitcoin lending platform.