PANews reported on February 19th that, according to CoinDesk, crypto lending company Ledn announced the completion of its first asset-backed security (ABS) transaction using Bitcoin as collateral, raising $188 million and setting a precedent in the crypto lending market. The report states that the transaction packaged over 5,400 personal loans secured by Bitcoin holdings into bonds, with a weighted average interest rate of 11.8%. The ABS uses the underlying loan cash flow as the source of repayment, and investors earn returns through the bonds.

This offering was divided into two tranches, with the investment-grade tranche priced 335 basis points above the benchmark interest rate. Jefferies served as the exclusive structuring and bookrunner for this transaction. Given the significant volatility of Bitcoin prices (with a maximum drawdown of approximately 50% in the past four months, reaching as low as $60,000), the structure incorporates an automatic collateral liquidation mechanism, which will enforce forced liquidation when a risk threshold is reached to protect investors during periods of severe market fluctuation. Industry insiders believe that this offering marks the first time Bitcoin-collateralized loans have entered the traditional asset securitization market framework, providing a new path for the integration of crypto credit assets with mainstream capital markets.