Bitcoin-backed borrowing at the Gibraltar-based Xapo Bank is increasingly being used for long-term financial planning rather than short-term liquidity, according to the bank’s 2025 Digital Wealth Report.
Shared with Cointelegraph, the report says 52% of the Bitcoin-backed loans issued by Xapo in 2025 carried a 365-day term, with many of those loans remaining open even as new loan creation slowed later in the year.
The bank, which primarily caters to high-net-worth individuals and private clients, said the trend reflects members using Bitcoin as collateral to unlock liquidity while preserving long-term exposure, rather than tapping loans for temporary cash needs.
“Long-term Bitcoiners, many of whom are now holding the majority of their wealth in Bitcoin, finally felt comfortable taking some profit,” the report said. “At the same time, the underlying conviction didn’t waver. Most of our long-term members continued to hold the bulk of their Bitcoin through periods of heavy market movement.”
The data comes from Xapo’s first calendar year of operating its Bitcoin-backed lending product, which allows qualified clients to borrow US dollars against their Bitcoin holdings. It offers a view into how Bitcoin is being used inside regulated banking rails as productive collateral integrated into longer-term financial planning.
From launch narrative to observed behavior
Xapo launched its Bitcoin-backed USD loans on March 18, 2025, targeting long-term Bitcoin holders seeking liquidity without selling their assets.
At the time, the bank positioned the product as a conservative alternative to earlier crypto lending models, offering loan terms of up to 365 days and relatively low loan-to-value ratios.
Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca previously told Cointelegraph that growing confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term outlook was encouraging holders to borrow rather than liquidate their positions, signaling a shift away from short-term speculation toward longer-term thinking.
The 2025 report suggests that expectation has materialized in practice. While loan issuance moderated later in the year, outstanding loan balances continued to grow, indicating that borrowers were keeping loans open rather than using them as short-term liquidity tools.
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Rocca said in the report that the pattern reflects “disciplined, private-bank-style financial behaviour,” with members using Bitcoin as productive capital rather than a short-term liquidity tool.
Loan volumes are also concentrated in regions like Europe and Latin America. According to Xapo Bank, the two regions accounted for 85% of total loan volume, at 56% and 29% respectively.
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