{"id":23056,"date":"2025-04-15T13:36:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/study-finds-tether-now-leads-crypto-lending\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T13:36:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:36:50","slug":"study-finds-tether-now-leads-crypto-lending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/study-finds-tether-now-leads-crypto-lending\/","title":{"rendered":"Study finds Tether now leads crypto lending"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-keypoints article_keypoints\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The total crypto-lending market was estimated at $36.5bn.<\/li>\n<li>Tether\u2019s share of the CeFi segment rose from under 20% in Q2 2021 to around ~70%.<\/li>\n<li>Since the bear-market low, the DeFi metric has jumped 959% to $19.1bn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tether, Galaxy and Ledn accounted for 88.6% of the <span data-descr=\"centralised platforms\" class=\"old_tooltip\">CeFi<\/span> segment of the digital-asset lending market, according to Galaxy Digital.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">read the entire epic report by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/glxyresearch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@glxyresearch<\/a>\u2019s wizard <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZackPokorny_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ZackPokorny_<\/a> , which also dives deep into DeFi and other types of lending, mechanics, use cases, and much more<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OhDgkwMzPW\">https:\/\/t.co\/OhDgkwMzPW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intangiblecoins\/status\/1911839771405492365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>By end-2024, the crypto-lending market was estimated at $36.5bn, 43% below the 2021 peak of $64.4bn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The figure includes <span data-descr=\"cryptoasset-collateralised\" class=\"old_tooltip\">CDP<\/span>-based stablecoins such as DAI.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-1515.webp\" alt=\"1-1515\" class=\"wp-image-256661\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Data: Galaxy Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Analysts linked the four-year decline to a shrinking pool of lenders and reduced borrowing demand from institutions and retail users.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CeFi<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>By analysts\u2019 estimates, by the end of 2024 the volume of loans in the CeFi sector was $11.2bn\u201468% less than the $34.8bn peak in 2022.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-1075.webp\" alt=\"2-1075\" class=\"wp-image-256662\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Data: Galaxy Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The largest centralised lenders include Tether, Galaxy, Ledn, Coinbase and Maple. The first three made up 88.6% of the CeFi market ($9.9bn).<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tether\u2019s role<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The USDT issuer entered the sector after the collapse of major platforms such as <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/blockfi-to-shut-down-platform-and-partner-with-coinbase-for-fund-withdrawals\">BlockFi<\/a>, Celsius Network and Genesis Global Capital, following the 2022 crypto-price crash and poor risk management.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of 2022, Tether\u2019s share of the CeFi segment had risen to ~70%, up from less than 20% in Q2 2021.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-601.webp\" alt=\"3-601\" class=\"wp-image-256663\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Data: Galaxy Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u00abThey began their activities during the downturn and became a necessary source of liquidity in this market\u00bb,<\/em> the report says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Tether<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-04-14\/tether-emerges-as-major-crypto-lender-since-collapse-of-sector\"> noted<\/a> that it regularly discloses the existence of secured loans in its attestation reports. These are short-term and subject to strict risk management, including reserve and liquidation mechanisms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tether has never faced loan defaults, its representatives emphasised.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DeFi<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>DeFi accounted for over 60% of the market. Since the bear-market low of $1.8bn, the metric has risen 959% to $19.1bn. The tally covers 20 platforms across 12 blockchains.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-372.webp\" alt=\"4-372\" class=\"wp-image-256664\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crypto-lending market map. Data: Galaxy Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Outlook<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Analysts offered several forecasts for 2025:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In CeFi\u2014the repeal of the <span data-descr=\"US Securities and Exchange Commission\" class=\"old_tooltip\">SEC<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-lifts-ban-on-banks-holding-cryptocurrencies\">SAB121 rule<\/a> and the launch of crypto ETFs used as collateral have laid the groundwork for intensifying competition.<\/li>\n<li>In DeFi\u2014greater focus on tokenising off-chain debt and expanding the use cases for such tokens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u00abIn the long term, the cryptocurrency lending market faces a new phase of growth, characterised by improved risk management [\u2026] and clearer regulation. As it develops, the sector may become a bridge between <span data-descr=\"traditional finance\" class=\"old_tooltip\">TradFi<\/span> and the emerging digital-asset ecosystem, fostering wider adoption of financial services built on it\u00bb,<\/em> the specialists concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In March, the <span data-descr=\"US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation\" class=\"old_tooltip\">FDIC<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/fdic-permits-crypto-related-activities-without-prior-approval\"> allowed<\/a> \u201ccrypto-related activities\u201d. The list of activities permitted by default included lending.<\/p>\n<p>In January, miner MARA <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/mara-deploys-7377-btc-to-crypto-lending-platforms\">sent<\/a> 7,377 BTC (16.4% of its bitcoin reserves at the time) to lending services to earn a \u201cmodest\u201d additional income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The total crypto-lending market was estimated at $36.5bn. Tether\u2019s share of the CeFi segment rose from under 20% in Q2 2021 to around ~70%. Since the bear-market low, the DeFi metric has jumped 959% to $19.1bn. Tether, Galaxy and Ledn accounted for 88.6% of the CeFi segment of the digital-asset lending market, according to Galaxy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1093,770,1156,1097,1150,167],"class_list":["post-23056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-defi","tag-galaxy-digital","tag-institutional-investors-and-whales","tag-lending","tag-news-plus","tag-research"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"14","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}