Independent comparison
Bitcoin & Credit
Instead of selling your bitcoin, you can pledge it as collateral for a loan. Providers differ a lot in whether they custody your bitcoin themselves or secure it via on-chain multisig escrow, and in how they are regulated.
Our pick
Firefish
- Headquarters
- Prague, Czechia
- Founded
- Founded in 2022 by Martin Matejka and Igor Neumann
- Regulation
- Firefish Europe s.r.o. is authorized as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) under the EU's MiCA regulation
- Users
- no publicly disclosed user count; raised a $1.8m seed round (including Braiins, Miton) to expand globally
- Founders
- Martin Matejka and Igor Neumann
- Current leadership
- Founding team still leading operations
- Investors
- including Braiins and Prague-based VC firm Miton
Strengths
- Non-custodial: bitcoin sits in a multisig escrow on the Bitcoin blockchain, not with Firefish itself
- MiCA-licensed via Firefish Europe s.r.o.
- Rates from 5% p.a., no monthly instalments, repayment at the end of the term
- No credit check needed, owning bitcoin is enough
Weaknesses
- Young company (since 2022), shorter track record than established banks
- Marketplace model: terms also depend on available lenders
- Escrowed bitcoin gets liquidated if the loan isn't repaid
Best for: Bitcoin holders who value non-custodial storage via multisig escrow and want a loan against their bitcoin without a credit check.
Using this link gets you 30% off the origination fee on your first loan at Firefish.
Nexo
- Headquarters
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Founded
- Founded in 2018
- Regulation
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified; fully withdrew from the US market at the end of 2022 following a settlement with the SEC and eight US states
- Users
- over $7bn in assets under management and over $465bn in cumulative transaction volume (as of Q2 2026)
- Founders
- including Antoni Trenchev (co-founder & managing partner)
- Current leadership
- Antoni Trenchev still leading as managing partner
- Investors
- no publicly disclosed investor details found in this research
Strengths
- One of the most established platforms worldwide (since 2018)
- Credit Line: instant access to a credit facility after depositing crypto
- Payout in stablecoin or directly to a bank account
- SOC 2 Type 2 certification as a security benchmark
Weaknesses
- Custodial: bitcoin is held by Nexo itself, not in your own custody
- 2022: $45m SEC penalty plus a further $22.5m to other US regulators over its unlicensed Earn product
- No longer available to US customers since late 2022
- No deposit insurance the way bank balances have
Best for: Users who prefer an established, custodially managed platform with instant credit access and who are aware of and accept its regulatory history.
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