If Bitcoin just dropped and you have a loan against it, start here: a falling price is not a liquidation. Nothing has been sold. Your collateral is worth less than it was last week, so your loan-to-value has drifted up — but a loan-to-value drifting up is a number to manage, not an emergency to panic about. The borrowers who lose their Bitcoin in a downturn are almost never the ones who did the math and acted. They are the ones who froze, or who panic-sold at the bottom out of fear of a forced sale that had not happened yet.
This is a calm, numbers-first playbook for exactly this moment. It has four moves: find your trigger price, decide between paying in capital and refinancing, and then execute whichever one you chose with the right amount — not a guess. Most of the advice online tells you a margin call is bad and to "add collateral or pay it down." This goes further: it gives you the formulas to know your real liquidation price and to size the fix to a target, because clearing today's alert by a dollar just puts you back here tomorrow.
First, find your three numbers
Before you do anything, you need three numbers. Everything else follows from them.
- Your current LTV. This is your loan balance divided by the current value of your Bitcoin collateral. If you borrowed $50,000 against 1 BTC and Bitcoin is $90,000, your LTV is 50,000 / 90,000 ≈ 56%.
- Your margin-call price. The Bitcoin price at which your lender sends the warning. It equals your loan balance divided by (your pledged Bitcoin times the margin-call LTV).
- Your liquidation price. The price at which the lender actually sells. Same formula, using the liquidation LTV.
The one formula that matters is this:
Trigger price = loan balance ÷ (Bitcoin pledged × trigger LTV)
So a $50,000 loan against 1 BTC, with a margin call at 70% LTV and liquidation at 85%, gets a margin call at 50,000 / (1 × 0.70) ≈ $71,400 and a liquidation at 50,000 / (1 × 0.85) ≈ $58,800. If Bitcoin is sitting at $90,000, that borrower still has a long way to fall before anything happens — the right move is to watch, not to act. If Bitcoin is at $74,000, the call is close and it is time to work the rest of this playbook.
Don't guess these numbers or trust one you half-remember. Put your real loan into the liquidation price calculator to see your exact trigger, and use the loan calculator to see how a given change moves it. Your thresholds are lender-specific — here is where the call and liquidation actually fire across the lenders we track:
Max LTV
60.00%
Liquidation fee
Not posted
Margin call & liquidation
Maximum origination LTV 60 percent. Specific margin-call and liquidation LTV thresholds are not publicly posted.
Cure window
Not publicly posted. Ask the lender before you borrow.
Max LTV
60.00%
Liquidation fee
2.00%
Margin call & liquidation
Same liquidation mechanics as the Monthly Payment product, 24h cure window from margin call trigger.
Cure window
24 hours from margin call trigger to add collateral, repay principal, or request partial liquidation
Max LTV
60.00%
Liquidation fee
2.00%
Margin call & liquidation
Specific threshold not publicly posted
Cure window
24 hours from margin call trigger to add collateral, repay principal, or request partial liquidation
Max LTV
90.00%
Liquidation fee
0.00%
Margin call & liquidation
Liquidation LTV: 80-95% (borrower-chosen at origination; varies by collateral asset). Margin call LTV not separately specified publicly.
Cure window
Not publicly posted. Three-tier alert system (Safe Zone / Warning Zone / Margin Call Zone) with email/SMS notifications. Auto-top-up feature available.
Max LTV
75.00%
Liquidation fee
2.00%
Margin call & liquidation
Maximum initial LTV 75%. Specific margin-call and liquidation LTV thresholds for the Figure Markets product are not separately published; a 2% processing fee applies to any liquidated collateral.
Cure window
Not publicly posted. Ask the lender before you borrow.
Max LTV
50.00%
Liquidation fee
Not posted
Margin call & liquidation
A 70% LTV alert is a notification/reminder, not a formal margin call; liquidation triggers at 80% LTV. Initial LTV at origination: 50%. Thresholds visible at ledn.io/bitcoin-loan-calculator.
Cure window
No formal contractual cure window. Ledn states "typically there are no time windows to meet collateral calls." Auto-top-up feature provides alerts at 70% LTV but is not a contractual guarantee.
Max LTV
50.00%
Liquidation fee
Not posted
Margin call & liquidation
Not publicly posted. Ask the lender before you borrow.
Cure window
Not publicly posted. Ask the lender before you borrow.
Max LTV
70.00%
Liquidation fee
Not posted
Margin call & liquidation
Four stages: (1) warning at 75% LTV; (2) formal margin call at 83.33% LTV with a 48-hour cure; (3) final notice at 88% LTV; (4) Stabilization at 90.91% LTV. Stabilization is not a traditional liquidation: rather than selling collateral to repay the loan, Salt converts the bitcoin collateral to USDC to lock in its value and leaves the loan in place. The conversion carries a 3% fee, and converting the USDC back to bitcoin later carries a 2% fee.
Cure window
48 hours to cure once formal margin call issued at 83.33% LTV. Must restore LTV to 70% or below.
Max LTV
50.00%
Liquidation fee
0.00%
Margin call & liquidation
Warning at 65% LTV. Margin call at 70% LTV, 72h cure to restore to 65% or below. Auto-partial-liquidation at 85% LTV (only enough BTC sold to restore to 65%). Note: 'volatility-proof' non-liquidating product is private client desk only.
Cure window
72 hours from margin call trigger (extended from 24h in February 2026). Must restore LTV to 65% or below. Auto-cancels if BTC price recovers within window.
Max LTV
50.00%
Liquidation fee
2.00%
Margin call & liquidation
CTP < 150% (LTV > 66.7%) triggers 24h margin call. CTP ≤ 120% (LTV ≥ 83.3%) triggers immediate hard liquidation with no additional cure. Max origination LTV is 40% (CTP 250%). BUSINESS ENTITIES ONLY, no sole proprietors.
Cure window
24 hours to cure CTP violation (for contracts post Feb 19, 2025). Options: add BTC collateral or repay principal to restore CTP above 150%. After cure window, foreclosure notice issued; liquidation is immediate and irreversible.
Notice how much they differ. That variation is not trivia; it is the whole basis for the refinance decision later.
How far can Bitcoin actually fall?
To size any fix, you need a view on how low Bitcoin could go, because the goal is to put your liquidation price below the worst you think is realistic. History is the anchor here, and it is sobering:
| Cycle top → bottom | Peak-to-trough drawdown |
|---|---|
| Dec 2017 → Dec 2018 | about −84% |
| Nov 2021 → Nov 2022 | about −77% |
| Nov 2013 → Jan 2015 | about −85% |
| March 2020 (COVID, over days) | about −50% |
Every major Bitcoin bear market has taken price down 77% to 86% from the top, and the COVID crash showed it can lose half its value in 48 hours. Put that next to the earlier math — a loan opened at 50% LTV gets a margin call after only about a 30% drop — and the conclusion is uncomfortable but clear: for a leveraged borrower, a margin call is not a tail risk. It is what happens in a normal cycle. Sizing your buffer to survive a 10% dip is sizing it for the wrong event.
A view, clearly labeled as a view: our read is that Bitcoin's drawdowns have been getting shallower and shorter as the asset matures and the holder base deepens, and it is plausible this cycle's low is nearer than the last two cycles would suggest — potentially with the worst of the drawdown behind us within this year. But that is an opinion, not a forecast to bank your collateral on, and even a "maturing" cycle has historically still meant declines in the −70% range. Treat the optimistic case as a reason to stay calm, not as a reason to under-hedge. Size your position so you are fine if the pessimistic case shows up and pleasantly surprised if it does not.
Your two real options
Once you know your numbers and your scenario, the decision reduces to two moves. Both lower your loan-to-value; they differ in what they cost you and what they buy you.
- Pay in capital — add Bitcoin or repay part of the loan — to push your liquidation price down and away from any realistic cycle low.
- Refinance — move the loan to a lender with a lower rate, a higher liquidation threshold, or a longer cure window — to make the same position safer or cheaper without adding a dollar.
They are not mutually exclusive; the strongest play is often to pay down just enough to qualify, then refinance into more forgiving terms. But you have to know your clock first, because a fast drop can close the window before you have finished deliberating:
Price falls
Bitcoin drops; your loan is fixed, so LTV rises.
Warning
Some lenders flag a soft alert as you near the line.
Margin call
LTV crosses the threshold. The cure clock starts.
Cure window
Hours to act: add BTC, or repay part of the loan.
Liquidation
No action in time: the lender sells your collateral.
You cure in time
Add collateral or repay to push LTV back below the line, and the loan continues. Nothing is sold.
You do not
The lender sells collateral to restore the LTV, sometimes a slice, sometimes all of it, often at the worst price and with a fee.
Option 1 — Pay in capital to move your trigger down
This is the direct fix, and it is where nearly every other guide stops short. They tell you to "add collateral or pay down." They do not tell you how much. Here is the part that is missing everywhere else.
Pick a target liquidation price — a number comfortably below where you think Bitcoin could bottom this cycle (see the drawdown table above; many borrowers pick a level that would survive a −60% to −75% move from the recent top). Then use one of these:
To repay down to a target price: repay = loan balance − (target price × Bitcoin pledged × liquidation LTV)
To add collateral down to a target price: add BTC = loan balance ÷ (target price × liquidation LTV) − Bitcoin already pledged
Work the example. You owe $50,000 against 1 BTC, liquidation LTV 85%, current liquidation price ≈ $58,800. You want it down to $30,000 so that even a brutal cycle low can't force a sale.
- Repay route: repay = 50,000 − (30,000 × 1 × 0.85) = 50,000 − 25,500 = repay $24,500. Your new balance is $25,500 and your liquidation price is now $30,000.
- Add-collateral route: add = 50,000 ÷ (30,000 × 0.85) − 1 = 1.96 − 1 = add about 0.96 BTC. Same $30,000 liquidation price, loan untouched.
Which route? Add Bitcoin if you are still bullish, have spare coins ready, and want to keep your full loan working — it is fast and reversible. Repay if you would rather permanently shrink the debt and the interest that rides on it. And note the buffer discipline: don't top up only to just under the current alert, because a small further drop drops you right back into a call. Move your liquidation price to your scenario, not to today.
One more reason to act rather than wait — the tax asymmetry. Under current US tax treatment, adding Bitcoin as collateral is not a taxable event, and repaying your loan in dollars is not taxable either. A forced liquidation, on the other hand, is a taxable sale: you realize a capital gain at the very bottom, at the worst possible price, often with a liquidation fee stacked on top. So doing nothing doesn't just risk your Bitcoin; it risks turning a paper problem into a realized tax bill. (This is not tax advice — see our loans vs. selling tax strategy and confirm your own situation with a CPA.)
Option 2 — Refinance to a better rate or a more forgiving trigger
Paying in capital is not the only lever. Sometimes the smarter move is to change the loan itself. Look again at how differently lenders set their thresholds and windows — one lender's liquidation at 80% versus another's at 90%, or an instant auto-liquidation versus a 72-hour cure window, is the difference between a stressful week and a non-event on the exact same position.
Refinancing lets you buy that difference. In a drawdown there are three prizes worth chasing:
- A lower rate, so the loan costs less to carry while you wait out the cycle.
- A higher liquidation threshold, so your liquidation price sits lower without you adding a cent.
- A longer cure window, so a fast overnight drop doesn't liquidate you before you can react.
Here is the catch nobody warns you about: a new lender generally requires your loan to meet their standard opening LTV (often around 50%) at the moment you refinance. If the drop has already pushed you deep toward a call, you may not qualify until you pay some down first. That is the argument for refinancing early — while you still have a buffer — rather than waiting until you are against the wall. If you have already fallen too far, the combined play is clean: pay down just enough to qualify, then refinance into the more forgiving terms.
Model it before you move. The refinance calculator shows the rate change, the switching cost, and whether your Bitcoin even has to move custody, and the home-page calculator lets you filter every lender by the terms that matter here. These are the current refinance-relevant terms across the lenders we track:
APX LendingFixed-rate terms run 3 to 60 months and are extendable with no origination or admin fees. Early repayment is capped at about three months of interest.
ArchYou can roll over or refinance from the dashboard at the end of your term, or any time without a prepayment penalty, at the prevailing rate. The origination fee (0.25%–1.49%, tiered by size) applies again on each new loan.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalty. Accrued interest can be settled at any time without penalty.
CoinRabbitCoinRabbit loans are open-ended with no maturity date, so there is no refinance or renewal step. You keep the loan open and pay interest, and can increase the loan or top up collateral at any time.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalties. Repay in full or partial at any time with no fixed schedule.
FigureLoans run a 12-month interest-only term (up to roughly 75% initial LTV). At maturity you can roll into a new loan if your LTV is in range and you still qualify; a renewal fee may apply.
LednYou can refinance once a loan is at least 30 days old to pick up Ledn's current rate. Ledn's 2% admin fee is waived in the US and Canada (it applies only outside those markets). If your LTV is around 65% or lower at maturity, the loan can auto-renew into a new agreement, which may carry a new admin fee and rate. Refinancing alone does not release cash — withdrawing appreciated collateral is a separate redemption step.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalty
NexoNexo is a revolving credit line with no maturity, so refinancing does not apply. You repay and re-borrow at will, and adding collateral raises your available credit directly.
SALTYou can refinance into a new term at any time or at maturity, subject to your LTV, and you can increase your loan amount mid-term. An origination fee may apply to refinances.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalty and no late fees.
StrikeStrike markets refinancing as a feature: you can roll into a new 12-month loan at Strike's current rate at no cost, with no origination, prepayment, or liquidation fees. You can also hold up to five loans at once, increase your line, or withdraw excess collateral.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalty. Full closure permitted after 61 days. Cash repayments free; BTC collateral repayment incurs 0.79% processing fee (state-dependent).
UnchainedYou can refinance into a new term by submitting a new application, subject to approval and current market terms; the new loan pays off the old one. Because the origination fee recurs and terms run 90–360 days, frequent refinancing adds up.
Prepayment: No prepayment penalty. Origination fee is non-refundable on early payoff.
Refinancing terms render live from our comparison database and can change. Confirm current terms with each lender, and compare them side by side in the refinancing tool.
For the full mechanics of switching a Bitcoin loan — costs, custody, and when it is worth it — see how Bitcoin loan refinancing works.
If you truly can't cover it
Sometimes the cash and the spare Bitcoin just are not there in the window. Even then, silence is the most expensive choice. If you cannot fully cure the call, contact the lender and do what you can, because a partial, planned reduction beats an ignored notice that hands the lender full discretion over what gets sold and when. Many lenders liquidate only enough to bring you back to a safe level and return the rest of your collateral; a few sell the whole position. Knowing which kind you have — before the moment arrives — is part of borrowing responsibly. The full mechanics, lender by lender, are in our margin call and liquidation guide, and the calm step-by-step for a call already in progress is in how to handle a margin call.
Don't be here next time
Once you are safely through this drop, make the next one a non-event:
- Open at a lower LTV. This is the biggest lever by far. Borrow at 20–35% instead of 50%+, and Bitcoin has to fall much further before a call is even possible — often past any realistic cycle low.
- Keep reserves ready. Bitcoin or cash you can post in minutes turns a margin call into a quick chore instead of a crisis. The cure window only helps if you have something to deploy inside it.
- Pick forgiving terms up front. A higher liquidation threshold and a real cure window are worth more than a headline rate in a volatile market. Compare them across lenders in the reviews before you borrow, not during a crash.
A margin call handled with a clear head and the right numbers is rarely what hurts a careful borrower. The high-LTV, no-reserves, no-plan loan is. For where this fits in the full risk picture, see are Bitcoin loans safe?
This is not financial advice
borrow/on/bitcoin is a comparison publisher, not a lender, broker, or financial or tax advisor. Bitcoin loans carry real risk, including the forced sale of your collateral in a margin call or liquidation. The market view expressed here is an opinion, not a prediction, and should not be the basis for how you size a loan. Thresholds, cure windows, accepted cure methods, fees, and refinancing eligibility vary by lender and product and can change, so verify the current terms directly with your lender and model your own numbers before acting.