pledge
SALT Lending
The original Bitcoin-backed lender since 2016. BTC loans at 7.49-10.50% APR, up to 70% LTV, contract-dependent collateral-use risk. Safety score 5.5/10.
Run your numbers
What happens if BTC drops.
The single most important question on a Bitcoin loan. With SALT Lending, liquidation is a managed process. If your loan-to-value rises toward the liquidation threshold below, SALT Lending works through margin calls before any collateral is sold.
At SALT Lending's 70% opening LTV, BTC would have to fall 23% before a position opened at that LTV reaches the 91% liquidation threshold.
Cure window: Not publicly specified.
What SALT Lending publishes: Margin calls at 75%/83.33%/88% LTV tiers. Liquidation at 90.91% LTV. SALT Shield upgrade available for no-liquidation protection on loans over $50K.
The terms, translated.
With SALT Lending, the “contract” is the loan agreement and the platform’s risk parameters. We've pulled the key terms from SALT Lending's own data and translated them into plain English.
How SALT Lending compares to its closest cousins.
The org, the founder, the governance.
Tiered APR by LTV (re-verified Jun 21, 2026): 30% LTV from 7.49% APR, 50% LTV from 8.75% APR, 70% LTV at 10.50% APR. No origination fee (dropped from 1% earlier in 2026). Terms: 12, 36, or 60 months. $5,000 minimum loan. Public margin-event materials show first warning at 75%, second margin call at 83.33%, final notice at 88%, and stabilization/forced liquidation at 90.91%. SALT Shield is marketed as a no-liquidation upgrade for eligible loans over $50K and appears included on 1-year 30% LTV loans in newer promotional copy; confirm exact coverage and exclusions directly with SALT. Risk disclosure language permits collateral re-pledging/use, so no-rehypothecation marketing should be treated cautiously.
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: partial. Scores 4/10 (weak). "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 4/10 (weak). 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: licensed. 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 4/10 (weak). 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.
10+ years operating since 2016. Scores 8/10 (solid). 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.
Same score, different shape.
Each spoke is one of the eight factors behind SALT Lending's 5.5/10, plotted 0–10 and ordered by methodology weight. The filled shape is the lender's safety profile. Two lenders can share an overall score and still have opposite shapes — a balanced octagon is a very different risk than a spike on one axis with thin edges everywhere else. SALT Lending is strongest on regulatory (8/10) and thinnest on transparency (4/10).
Questions readers actually ask about SALT Lending.
What makes SALT Lending different from other BTC lenders?
SALT is the original Bitcoin-backed lender, operating since 2016 through multiple market cycles — including the 2022 crypto winter. They offer fixed-rate terms up to 5 years (the longest available) and an optional SALT Shield marketed as no-liquidation protection for eligible loans.
What is SALT Shield?
SALT Shield is an optional paid upgrade marketed as no-liquidation protection for eligible loans. It is available for loans over $50,000 with LTV under 70% and at least 3 months remaining. The one-time fee is personalized based on your collateral amount, LTV, and remaining term, and borrowers should confirm the exact coverage terms and exclusions directly with SALT.
What are SALT Lending's rates?
SALT offers fixed rates tiered by LTV: at 30% LTV, rates start at 7.49–10.5% APR; at 50% LTV, rates are higher; at 70% LTV, rates are higher still. Terms range from 1 to 5 years. There is a None origination fee. Rates are fixed for the full loan term.
What happens if BTC drops with a SALT loan?
SALT uses a tiered margin call system: warning at 75% LTV, second notice at 83.33%, and final notice at 88%. Liquidation triggers at 90.91% LTV. You can add collateral or pay down the loan at any point. For eligible covered loans, SALT Shield is marketed as a no-liquidation upgrade, but borrowers should confirm the exact coverage terms and exclusions directly with SALT before assuming those protections apply.
The receipts.
Every figure on SALT Lending traces to a primary document. These are the ones we read — open any of them.
- SALT rates and fees ↗Verified
APR by LTV and term, 1% origination fee, $5,000 minimum, collateral types, terms, and fee schedule
- SALT Shield product page ↗Verified
No-liquidation upgrade description, eligibility, $50,000+ loan threshold, LTV requirement, and dynamic pricing
- SALT Shield terms ↗Verified
Legal limitations, no-withdrawal condition, BTC-only collateral, and non-refundable fee terms
- SALT risk disclosure ↗Verified
Collateral-account risks, re-pledging/use language, margin-call cure language, and 90.91% forced liquidation LTV