Arch Lending

Arch Lending – Overview

Plenty of crypto lenders promise safety without saying much about what that actually means in practice. Arch Lending leans the other way, built specifically around the idea that Bitcoin holders shouldn’t have to choose between liquidity and custody they can actually verify. It’s a US-registered and licensed platform, which puts it in a different category from offshore lenders operating without clear jurisdiction.

The mechanics start with where your collateral actually sits. Rather than holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana on its own balance sheet, Arch routes everything through Anchorage Digital, an OCC-chartered digital asset bank, where it sits in cold storage backed by Lloyd’s of London insurance. Arch is upfront that it never lends out client crypto to generate side income, a practice known as rehypothecation that’s burned borrowers on other platforms when things went wrong.

Getting a loan follows a fairly structured path. You pick your collateral type, loan amount, and LTV ratio, verify your identity with a government-issued ID (there’s no credit check or income verification involved), then transfer your crypto to the segregated custody wallet. Funding typically lands the same business day once the collateral arrives, paid out in USD or USDC.

Rates start at 7.25% APR and stay fixed for the entire term once locked in, no adjustments, no surprise hikes later. Terms run from one to twelve months, and loans are interest-only, meaning the principal comes due at maturity unless you refinance into a new term, which Arch allows within three months of the original maturity date. There’s no penalty for repaying early either, in part or in full.

LTV limits vary by which asset you’re putting up. Bitcoin tops out around 60%, Ethereum around 55%, and Solana closer to 45%, though Arch’s own guidance leans toward borrowing well under those ceilings, something closer to 30-40%, since it takes a much bigger price drop to trigger liquidation at that level. If the market does move against you, Arch doesn’t jump straight to liquidating your whole position. It uses a staged approach: early notifications first, then margin calls asking you to top up collateral, and only if things keep deteriorating does it sell off just enough collateral to bring the LTV back to a healthy range, with a 2% fee applied to whatever gets liquidated.

Support runs across chat, email, phone, and scheduled video calls, a setup clearly aimed at higher-net-worth clients who want a person on the other end rather than just a support ticket queue.