Crypto lending platform Ledn processed over $690M worth of loans during the first quarter of 2024. This achievement marked Ledn's most successful quarter since its establishment in 2018, with the loan volume nearly quintupling compared to the previous three months.
According to Ledn, the rise in lending activity was driven primarily by institutional market makers, who accounted for more than 84% of the loans. This heightened demand followed the approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States in January. Ledn noted that several hundred million dollars were extended to ETF market makers as loans during this period.
Besides institutional lending, Ledn also extended $100M in loans to retail customers during the first quarter. Interestingly, 40% of these represented refinanced loans from the collapse of the Celsius Network.