Arch Lending

What happens if BTC drops.

The single most important question on a Bitcoin loan. With Arch Lending, liquidation is a managed process. If your loan-to-value rises toward the liquidation threshold below, Arch Lending works through margin calls before any collateral is sold.

At Arch Lending's 60% opening LTV, BTC would have to fall 25% before a position opened at that LTV reaches the 80% liquidation threshold.

Cure window: Not publicly specified.

What Arch Lending publishes: No rehypothecation. BTC starting LTV 60%, margin call at 70%, and partial liquidation at 80%. A 2% fee is typically applied to partial liquidations where allowed. Line of credit — draw and repay anytime.

The terms, translated.

With Arch Lending, the “contract” is the loan agreement and the platform’s risk parameters. We've pulled the key terms from Arch Lending's own data and translated them into plain English.

How Arch Lending compares to its closest cousins.

The org, the founder, the governance.

Current published ladder (verified June 21, 2026): 9.00% interest under $250K, 8.50% for $250K-$750K, 8.00% for $750K-$2M, and 7.75% for $2M-$5M, plus a 0.49%-1.49% origination fee by tier — an all-in 10.49% APR at the smallest tier down to 8.24% APR, with custom pricing from 7.25% APR for $5M+ borrowers. BTC starting LTV is 60%, margin call is 70%, and partial liquidation is 80%. Uses Anchorage custody and says its business model does not involve using client assets. U.S. loans are not available in AL, CA, DE, HI, MS, MT, NV, ND, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, or WA according to the help-center disclosure.

The 8-factor breakdown.

Custodial. Scores 7/10 (solid) on the custody axis. Non-custodial designs score highest because no third party can move collateral; custodial designs lose points proportional to operator discretion.

Policy: none. Scores 10/10 (strong). "Strict" / "no-rehypothecation" policies score highest because collateral cannot be lent out; "permitted" policies lose points for exposure to counterparty failure on the re-pledged BTC.

Scores 7/10 (solid). Programmatic on-chain liquidation at a fixed LTV scores highest (predictable, no operator discretion); discretionary or off-chain liquidation processes lose points proportional to opacity and timing risk.

Regulatory status: registered. Scores 8/10 (solid). US/EU-regulated lenders with explicit licensing score highest; offshore or DAO-governed entities lose points because there's less recourse if something goes wrong.

No public reserves reporting. Scores 4/10 (weak). Without auditable reserves disclosure, depositors have no independent confirmation that the assets exist and are unencumbered.

Scores 6/10 (moderate). Lenders that publish operating reports, smart-contract code, and live rate/LTV parameters score highest; those that bury terms in PDFs or change rates without notification lose points.

4+ years operating since 2022. Scores 6/10 (moderate). Older operations with surviving stress events (March 2020, Nov 2022, etc.) score highest; younger or untested operations lose points proportional to how many full cycles they've operated through.

Scores 5/10 (moderate). Loan agreements with explicit liquidation order, segregated-account language, and clear borrower recourse score highest; ambiguous default terms lose points.

Questions readers actually ask about Arch Lending.