APX Lending Funding:- In a renewed investor confidence, Toronto-based APX Lending has raised $20 million to cater to the growing demand for “crypto-backed loans” in Canada.
The agreement includes an accordion facility provided by private credit investment firm Cypress Hills. The accordion facility is designed to expand an existing credit line without renegotiating the entire deal.
This is aimed at providing APX with the flexibility to scale operations rapidly and comes soon after it become the first Crypto-Backed Loan Provider in Canada to receive Exemptive Relief by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).
APX Lending Cypto-Backed Loans : How it Functions
APX Lending, established in early 2023, is a Toronto-based crypto-backed lending platform. It is founded by the team behind Coinberry, one of Canada’s prominent licensed crypto exchanges. The platform enables crypto holders to borrow stablecoins and other digital assets using major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as collateral.
The platform stores client funds in segregated cold-storage wallets with BitGo, a leading crypto custodian offering over $250 million of insurance. Additionally, all crypto funds are moved using Fireblocks, which offers a further $35 million of insurance coverage.
While APX Lending offers complete visibility of loan collateral on the blockchain throughout the tenure of loans, it operates within the Centralized Finance (CeFi) domain. This means that, unlike decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, APX Lending does not operate entirely on-chain with automated smart contracts managing loan issuance and liquidation.
The timing of this funding round is telling. Analysts suggest that a resurgence in BTC and crypto prices, particularly Bitcoin’s climb past $70,000 in early 2025, has reignited demand for crypto-backed borrowing.
Notably, long-term holders (HODLers) are once again exploring loan options to unlock liquidity without liquidating their positions.
Further, Canadian lending market is also set for growth with projections estimating USD 3.42 billion by 2030, indicating a CAGR of 26.5%. According to the Ontario Securities Commission’s 2023 survey, 10% of Canadians aged 18–34 reported borrowing through crypto trading platforms or firms.
A Sector on the Rebound?
Crypto lending has had a tumultuous history. The space saw major disruptions in 2022 when prominent platforms like Celsius and BlockFi collapsed during the crypto winter, causing investor confidence to plummet.
This came after a series of devastating events including the fall of LUNA/UST, the insolvency of Three Arrows Capital, and the FTX bankruptcy. But now that phase may be giving way to a period of cautious resurgence.
This APX Lending funding particularly signals renewed optimism in the digital asset lending market, especially in light of shifting regulatory landscapes and increasing institutional appetite for alternative collateralized finance.
Recently, Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder and CSO of another leading Toronto-based digital asset loan protocol, Ledn, also hinted at possible bullish sentiment in the space.
“You’re going to see a Cambrian explosion of bitcoin-backed loans, because the rates are going to drop to a point that is going to make them competitive with home equity or personal lines of credit, or other types of instruments,” Di Bartolomeo said in a recent interview to a prominent media publication.
According to DeFiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in crypto lending protocols has steadily climbed past $15 billion as of April 2025—up from $9.8 billion in Q4 2024.
Further, leading protocols such as Aave, MakerDAO, and newer entrants like APX Lending are seeing a slow but steady uptick in lending volumes – highlighting near-term bullish sentiment.
The post APX Lending Secures $20M – Is Demand for Crypto-Backed Loans Rebounding? appeared first on CoinGape.
