Nearly nine out of ten crypto holders say they’d consider taking a loan backed by their digital assets. Fewer than one in seven actually do. That disconnect, which Ledn is calling the “collateral gap,” might be the most important number in crypto lending right now.
A survey of 1,244 crypto holders across the US and Australia, conducted by Protocol Theory for Bitcoin-focused lending platform Ledn between February 19 and February 24, 2026, found that 88% of respondents are open to crypto-backed loans. But only 14% currently use them. That’s a 6-to-1 ratio between intent and action.
Trust, not rates, is the real bottleneck
The survey found that the top concerns keeping non-users on the sidelines were trust-related. Price volatility, liquidation risk, and regulatory uncertainty ranked well above loan pricing or feature sets.
When respondents were asked what would make them more comfortable, platform reputation, risk management measures, custody safeguards, and clarity of loan terms all outranked competitive rates or flashy product features.
