Ledn’s $188M Bitcoin‑Backed ABS Deal Enters US Bond Market

Ledn sold about $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin‑collateralized consumer loans, marking a first‑of‑its‑kind entry of crypto‑linked credit into the mainstream asset‑backed securities market. One of the two tranches — the investment‑grade portion — was priced at a spread of about 335 basis points over a benchmark rate, implying investors demand roughly 3.35 percentage points in extra yield versus conventional consumer ABS.

The structure, Ledn Issuer Trust 2026‑1, securitizes a pool of 5,441 short‑term, fixed‑rate balloon loans extended to 2,914 US borrowers and backed by 4,078.87 Bitcoin, per S&P Global Ratings’ preliminary documentation on Feb. 9. Balloon loans carry relatively small periodic payments with a large lump‑sum “balloon” payment at maturity.

S&P assigned preliminary BBB‑ (sf) ratings to $160 million of senior Class A notes and B‑ (sf) ratings to $28 million of subordinated Class B notes; BBB‑ is the lowest tier of investment‑grade debt while B‑ sits in deep non‑investment‑grade territory.

United States

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