APX Lending Secures $20M in Funding as Demand for Crypto-Backed Loans in Canada Increases

Key Points:

• APX Lending, a provider of crypto-backed loans, has secured a $20 million accordion facility from Cypress Hills, a private credit investment firm.

• An accordion facility is a provision that enables a borrower to increase their borrowing capacity without needing to renegotiate the entire agreement.

• Digital asset lending has had a rocky past, with several lenders collapsing in 2022 during the crypto winter, but the situation may be shifting with the evolving regulatory landscape in the U.S.

APX Lending, a provider of crypto-backed loans, has secured a $20 million accordion facility from Cypress Hills, a private credit investment firm.

An accordion facility is a provision that enables a borrower to increase their borrowing capacity without renegotiating the full terms of the agreement, expanding as needed like an accordion.

APX, based in Toronto and specializing in loans secured by digital assets, plans to use the $20 million accordion facility to speed up its expansion across Canada, driven by the growing demand for crypto-backed loans, as stated in a Friday announcement.

Andrei Poliakov, founder and CEO, remarked, “This accordion facility from Cypress Hills is a key step in our mission to make crypto-backed loans more transparent, secure, and available to Canadians.”

At the beginning of this month, APX received exemptive relief from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which exempts the firm from certain registration and prospectus requirements. The company stated that this exemption would help address investor concerns, particularly in a retail context.

The exemption was granted "based on the specific facts and circumstances of the application, aiming to foster innovative businesses in Canada," as noted on the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) website.

Digital asset lending has faced challenges, with several lenders collapsing during the crypto winter of 2022. However, the more favorable regulatory stance on crypto in the U.S. is expected to help transform it into a competitive and dynamic market, according to Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of crypto lender Ledn.

Di Bartolomeo predicted that the U.S.'s friendlier approach to crypto would lead to lower interest rates, with the impact likely felt beyond the U.S. "Gold in a vault in Switzerland is not gold in a vault in Venezuela, but bitcoin in Colombia is bitcoin in Madrid is bitcoin anywhere in the world," he said in a recent interview.