Ask most people what a Bitcoin loan costs and they will quote a single number they saw on a homepage. That number is real, but it is a starting point on a rate card, and it is usually the best case on that card.
Your actual rate is the output of four levers. Three of them are yours to pull.
The four levers
1. Which lender. The largest single factor, and the one most borrowers spend least time on. Effective APRs in our set run from 7.25% to 15.9%. That is a spread of more than eight points for the same product against the same collateral.
2. Your loan-to-value. Most lenders price risk in tiers. Less leverage, lower rate.
3. Your loan size. Several lenders publish size bands where the rate steps down as the balance grows.
4. The term, through the origination fee. A fixed fee spread over twelve months costs a quarter of what it costs over three.
Notice what is not on that list: your credit score, your income, your employment. At most lenders there is no credit check, because the collateral is the underwriting. See Bitcoin loans without a credit check.
What the tiers actually look like
| Lender | Effective APR (incl. origination) | Max LTV | Lender page |
|---|---|---|---|
| APX Lending | 9.99% to 11.49% | 60.00% | Learn More |
| Arch (Deferred) | 9.49% to 10.99% | 60.00% | Learn More |
| Arch (Standard) | 8.99% to 10.49% | 60.00% | Learn More |
| CoinRabbit | 11.95% to 16.80% | 90.00% | Learn More |
| Figure | 9.76% to 12.35% | 75.00% | Learn More |
| Ledn | 9.99% to 11.49% | 50.00% | Learn More |
| Nexo | 15.90% | 50.00% | Learn More |
| SALT | 7.49% to 10.50% | 70.00% | Learn More |
| Strike | 7.75% to 10.47% | 50.00% | Learn More |
| Unchained | 14.18% | 50.00% | Learn More |
Lender facts on this page render live from our comparison database, last verified August 4, 2026. Figures refresh weekly; for the current set and your own loan size, see the comparison tool.
This is the table most comparisons flatten into one number per lender. A lender whose headline looks mid-range can be the cheapest at your specific size, and the cheapest headline can be mid-range at yours.
The origination fee is a term bet
This is where like-for-like comparison usually breaks down.
Arch starts at 7.25% with a 1.49% origination fee. SALT starts at 7.49% with no origination fee. On the headline, Arch is cheaper. Whether it is actually cheaper depends entirely on how long you hold the loan.
Over twelve months, Arch's fee amortises to roughly 1.49 points of annual cost, and the quarter-point rate advantage does not cover it, so SALT is close or ahead. Over three months, the same fee is roughly six points annualised, and SALT wins comfortably. Over three years, if you can hold that long, Arch's rate advantage compounds and it wins.
Every APR on this site folds origination in for exactly this reason, which is why our figure for a lender sometimes sits above the number on their own homepage. The full accounting of what else is chargeable is in what Bitcoin loans actually cost beyond the interest rate.
LTV is the lever you control, and it is the biggest one
Lenders price loan-to-value because the buffer protects them. At 30% LTV, Bitcoin can halve and the loan is still comfortably covered. At 70%, a routine drawdown puts the lender at risk of a shortfall. That difference is priced directly.
Which produces a rare alignment of interests. Lowering your LTV cuts your rate and moves your liquidation point further away. There is no trade-off. It is the one decision in this market where the cheaper option is also the safer one, and it costs you nothing except borrowing less.
The maximum LTVs on offer vary widely, from 50% at Ledn, Strike and Unchained up to 75% at Figure and 90% at CoinRabbit. A high ceiling is an option, not an instruction. Model where your liquidation sits on the liquidation calculator.
The fees that appear later
The rate card is not the whole cost. Three items commonly sit outside it.
Liquidation fees. Arch and Figure charge 2% on liquidated collateral. Strike and CoinRabbit charge none. You only pay it in the scenario you were trying to avoid, which is precisely when you can least afford an extra 2%.
Prepayment terms. Whether you can repay early without penalty determines whether a fixed-term loan is really fixed-term.
Refinancing cost. If rates fall, moving lenders may mean paying a second origination fee. Revolving lines avoid this, which is covered in how to refinance a Bitcoin loan.
Fixed against variable, which is a different question entirely
Everything above describes custodial lenders, who set a rate when you borrow and hold it. On-chain protocols do not price this way at all: your rate is an output of pool utilisation, resets continuously, and has no ceiling, as set out in what moves the DeFi borrow rate.
The gap between the two rails has averaged around six percentage points across our index history, measured in the custody premium. A large part of what that buys is a number that does not change while you are not watching.
How to get the best price available to you
- Compare on effective APR at your size and LTV, not on homepage headlines. The comparison tool prices every lender against your actual numbers.
- Drop your LTV a tier if you can. Usually the largest single saving, and it moves your liquidation point at the same time.
- Work out whether your term justifies an origination fee. Short loan, favour no-fee lenders. Long loan, the low-rate-plus-fee lenders usually win.
- Check the size bands before fixing on an amount.
- Read the liquidation fee, because it is the one you pay on your worst day.
- Ask directly above seven figures. Published cards are not always the final word at scale.
Compare
Price every lender against your own numbers on the comparison tool, see rates by loan size on Bitcoin loan rates by size, or read the lender reviews in full. Current market-wide levels are published daily in the BoB Rate Index.
This is not financial advice
borrow/on/bitcoin is a comparison publisher, not a lender, broker, or financial advisor. We may receive compensation from some lenders featured on this page, which does not influence our default ordering or the data we publish. Rates, fees, LTV tiers and size bands change without notice, and the figures here describe published terms rather than an offer. Verify current terms directly with each lender before applying. Borrowing against Bitcoin carries real risk including the loss of your collateral.