If bitcoin-backed borrowing is available for your account type in your jurisdiction, you’ll find the “Borrow” section by scrolling to the bottom of the “Cash” tab, where you first choose between a “Loan” and a “Line of credit”:

  • If you’re opening a loan, you need to choose a “monthly” or “at maturity” interest payment plan. In either case, you only need to repay the borrowed amount at the due date. For the line of credit, there’s no maturity date, so interest is billed or rolled over into principal every month. Where available, you also choose the “Standard” (12-month term) or “Volatility-proof” (6-month term) loan type. The latter has a higher rate but is protected from price-driven liquidations, though missed interest payments or repayment at maturity can still trigger partial liquidation after a grace period.
  • Set the “Loan amount” or “Credit line size”: You can’t increase the amount of a loan once it’s opened, but you can open more loans. The credit line size can be increased, and you can’t have more than one active line of credit.
  • Select “Post collateral”: When opening, you can add more collateral to lower your starting Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio. After opening, you can add more collateral anytime or retrieve collateral under certain conditions.
  • Choose a “Payment source”: Select how you prefer to pay interest and repay principal. Paying with bitcoin may have tax implications.
  • Enable “Notifications” to receive important loan updates.
  • Review and sign the “Agreement”: We’ll email you the agreement and add it to the “Documents” in your “Account”. Return to the app, sign in, and tap “Initiate loan”.

You can have up to 5 active term loans. Each loan gets its own Annual Percentage Rate (APR), fixed at the time of opening, and can have different terms. You can open one new loan per day. If you already have 5 open loans and want more, consolidate your loans or contact support.

You can have only one line of credit open. You can increase your credit line at any time.

How to migrate a loan from another lender

Strike Lending can’t buy out or directly transfer a loan from another provider, but you can move it over yourself. The process depends on how much bitcoin you have available and whether your current lender allows collateral retrieval mid-term.

If you can open another loan of the same size

With enough bitcoin readily available:

  1. Open a loan on Strike for an equal or higher amount
  2. Post bitcoin as collateral, either from your balance or deposited from any wallet or platform
  3. Use the cash to pay off your loan with the other provider
  4. Retrieve your collateral from the other provider

You end up with a single loan on Strike.

Moving your loan all at once

Suppose bitcoin is priced at $100,000. You have a $50,000 loan with another provider, backed by 1 BTC, and at least 1 BTC in a personal wallet.

You deposit 1 BTC into Strike and borrow $50,000 at a 50% LTV. You use it to pay off the other provider, and they release your 1 BTC collateral, which you can send back to your personal wallet.

Your bitcoin ends up right back where it started, and your loan is now on Strike.

If you can’t open another loan of the same size

If you don’t have enough bitcoin readily available to post as collateral, you can migrate by opening smaller loans in Strike.

For this to be possible, your existing lender must allow releasing collateral in proportion to the partial repayments you make. Some lenders release collateral after the loan is fully paid off. If that’s the case, your only option will be to open another loan of at least the same amount. Check with your current provider before proceeding.

If your lender supports partial collateral retrieval:

  1. Open a smaller loan on Strike using whatever bitcoin you have available
  2. Use that cash to make a partial repayment on your existing loan
  3. Retrieve the collateral your other provider unlocks
  4. Send that bitcoin to Strike and open additional loan volume
  5. Repeat until your old loan is fully paid off
  6. Consolidate your Strike loans into one, which may qualify you for a lower Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

Each round frees up more collateral to move. The process compounds, so each step goes faster.

Moving your loan in stages

Suppose bitcoin is at $100,000 and you have a $50,000 loan with another provider backed by 1 BTC. The rest of your bitcoin is in cold storage and not easily accessible, but you have 0.5 BTC readily available in a personal wallet.

You deposit that 0.5 BTC on Strike and borrow $25,000 at 50% LTV. You pay $25,000 toward your old loan, bringing it down to $25,000. Your current provider releases 0.5 BTC back to your personal wallet.

You deposit that same 0.5 BTC on Strike again and borrow another $25,000 to pay off the rest. Your other provider releases the remaining 0.5 BTC back to your wallet. You then consolidate your two Strike loans into one.