by Coinstrooper Crypto Articles
Quick Take
  • Crypto-backed lending remains a substantial market.
  • Outstanding crypto-collateralized loans stood at $56.2 billion at the end of June 2026, according to Galaxy Research.
  • A traditional personal loan often depends on income, credit checks, and scheduled repayments.
  • A crypto-backed loan uses assets you already own as security.

What Happened

KuCoin’s Crypto Loans, introduced this year, look promising for investors seeking flexibility. We reviewed its borrowing rules, asset coverage, rewards, and liquidation terms to see where it works well.

KuCoin lists 13 borrowable cryptocurrencies, including USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH and SOL. KuCoin now lists 47 collateral assets, up from five at launch.

Qualifying collateral can continue receiving Hold to Earn rewards if the feature is enabled before borrowing. Payments go to the Funding Account.

That is useful for investors who already hold eligible tokens. However, the financial benefit deserves closer examination.

Market Context

Crypto-backed lending remains a substantial market. Outstanding crypto-collateralized loans stood at $56.2 billion at the end of June 2026, according to Galaxy Research.

Users can raise funds without selling, although a falling market can put those assets at risk.

Suppose you hold Bitcoin but need USDT for a short-term trade. On KuCoin, you can pledge BTC, borrow USDT and repay later to release your collateral. You maintain exposure to Bitcoin’s price while the loan is open.

Continued exposure to the pledged asset’s price.

The trade-off is market exposure. If Bitcoin falls sharply, keeping the loan open can become difficult. Borrowing also requires identity verification and sufficient eligible collateral.

Tokenized stocks track shares but do not provide ordinary shareholder rights. Their prices can diverge from the underlying shares, particularly outside US trading hours.

KuCoin has confirmed the five additions, but their collateral weights should be checked on the live product page. KuCoin also restricts xStocks trading in many countries, including the US, UK, and Portugal. Users should check eligibility first.

Why It Matters

Borrowed USDT is still crypto. Paying ordinary bills may require conversion, withdrawal and additional fees.

An interesting addition is tokenized stock exposure: AAPLX, TSLAX, MSTRX, HOODX and CRCLX. An eligible Apple-linked token holder could borrow USDT without first selling that position, subject to the exchange’s product rules.

Details

The appeal of crypto loans is accessibility. A traditional personal loan often depends on income, credit checks, and scheduled repayments. A crypto-backed loan uses assets you already own as security.

KuCoin Crypto Loans at a Glance

1. Borrowing Without Selling: How Flexible Is It?

The main attraction is flexibility. Flexible Loan has no fixed repayment date, and borrowers can repay partially or fully at any time, normally without an early repayment fee.

What works well:

No conventional monthly repayment schedule.

Partial or full repayments whenever needed.

2. Asset Coverage: A Wider Range of Borrowing Options

That selection accommodates portfolios beyond Bitcoin and Ether.

3. Hold to Earn: Are the Rewards Worth It?

Consider the published reference rate for BTC: