Strike Launches Bitcoin-Backed Loans With No Liquidations at 14% APR

Bitcoin News

Bitcoin financial services platform Strike has launched a volatility-proof Bitcoin (BTC)-backed loan that removes margin calls and forced liquidations, regardless of how far the price falls. Announced by chief executive Jack Mallers on Tuesday, the product lets borrowers draw dollars against their coins while keeping the collateral untouched during drawdowns. In his words, there are no margin calls and no price-triggered liquidations, and the pledged Bitcoin does not move no matter how far the market drops. The offering arrives as Bitcoin trades near $63,000, and it targets a long-standing structural weakness in crypto lending: the risk of being force-sold into a crash.

The mechanism removes the volatility trigger, not the borrower obligation. Under Strike’s terms, the collateral is never liquidated on price movement alone, so a deep bear market cannot wipe out the position by itself. Payment discipline still governs the loan. If a borrower misses interest or the maturity payment, a 10-day grace period applies. Should the customer fail to pay or contact the company within that window, Strike retains the right to sell part of the pledged Bitcoin to cover the overdue amount. Mallers stressed the loan is volatility-proof, not liquidation-free, drawing a clear line between price risk and repayment risk.

The protection carries a cost. The product runs a maximum six-month term, shorter than Strike’s standard 12-month loans, with a maximum initial loan-to-value ratio of 45%, meaning a customer pledging $100,000 in Bitcoin can borrow up to $45,000. The annual percentage rate sits 2.95 percentage points above Strike’s standard product, which charges between 7.75% and 11.25%, pushing volatility-proof rates as high as roughly 14.2%. Mallers said the extra charge funds market hedges that let the company absorb sharp price swings. The offering is live across most US states for individuals and businesses, with a $10,000 minimum on personal loans.

The redesign responded directly to borrower feedback. Strike’s first Bitcoin loan, launched in May 2025, triggered numerous liquidations during a stretch in which Bitcoin fell roughly 54% from peak to trough. That episode exposed how price-linked liquidation clauses convert market drawdowns into forced selling for borrowers. Mallers framed the volatility problem as endemic to the asset itself: Bitcoin has dropped 30% or more in 10 of the past 12 years and has experienced a decline of 50% or more four times since 2014. Investors have argued that default should hinge on a borrower’s ability to repay rather than short-term price action.

The launch lands as institutional crypto-collateralized lending expands. A report from a Silicon Valley Bank crypto team found that lending secured by Bitcoin and other digital assets is growing as banks and institutional players enter the market. Loan origination volume for crypto-backed credit in the first quarter of 2026 reached the equivalent of roughly 11 trillion yen, an increase of nearly 50% year over year. The trend underscores how collateralized borrowing has become one of the fastest-growing use cases for holders who want dollar liquidity without selling their Bitcoin and surrendering future upside.

Demand still outruns adoption. A February survey of 1,244 crypto holders in the US and Australia, commissioned by lending platform Ledn, found that 88% of respondents would consider a crypto-backed loan, yet only 14% currently use one. Ledn described this six-to-one crypto collateral gap as driven by confidence in lending products, liquidation risk and regulatory uncertainty. The competitive field is already crowded, with Binance, Coinbase, Nexo and Xapo Bank all offering Bitcoin-backed loans, making Strike’s no-price-liquidation design an attempt to differentiate on the exact fear that has kept most would-be borrowers on the sidelines.

Our reading of the tape: COINOTAG’s proprietary 42-indicator composite scoring engine rates the $63,799 resistance at 79/100 (STRONG), driven by the confluence of the Fibonacci 0.236 retracement, a high-volume node and the prior-day close, with immediate support at $61,885 scored 73/100 on the BB Middle and SMA 20. Spot sits near $62,747, down 0.62% on the day, RSI at 47.91 with a bullish MACD against a broader downtrend. Derivatives read cautiously long: funding is a mild 0.0039%, open interest is $12.08 billion, and the long/short account ratio is 1.69 (62.8% long). With the Fear & Greed Index at 20 (Extreme Fear), reclaiming $63,799 opens the path toward $65,571; a daily close below $61,885 invalidates the bullish case and exposes $57,800.