Kraken Launches Flexline Crypto Loans for Pro Users

Kraken crypto loans are now available through the exchange's new Flexline product, which enables Kraken Pro users to borrow against their digital asset holdings at fixed annual percentage rates between 10% and 25%. The crypto-backed lending offering, announced on Wednesday, features terms ranging from two days to two years and arrives as competing platforms also ramp up their lending operations.

How Does Kraken Flexline Work?

Flexline is a crypto-collateralized loan product built for advanced and institutional traders on Kraken Pro, according to the exchange. Borrowers post supported cryptocurrencies as collateral and receive proceeds almost instantly in crypto or stablecoins. Those funds can be traded on the platform or withdrawn, depending on the borrower's location.

Kraken did not disclose specific loan-to-value ratios for Flexline. All collateral is stored in segregated wallets and included in the exchange's Proof of Reserves attestations, which Kraken says verify client assets on a 1:1 basis. If a borrower breaches maintenance requirements or fails to repay by maturity, the exchange may liquidate the posted collateral. Early repayment is permitted using an account balance, though Kraken applies an early repayment fee.

The product is currently unavailable in several major markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Kraken Expands Beyond Lending

The Flexline launch follows another major announcement from Kraken just one day earlier. The exchange unveiled tokenized equity perpetual futures on its regulated derivatives platform, offering eligible non-US clients around-the-clock leveraged exposure to major US stock indexes, gold, and individual companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla. The back-to-back product releases signal Kraken's aggressive push to broaden its financial services beyond conventional spot trading.

What Does the Crypto Lending Resurgence Look Like?

Kraken's entry into fixed-rate crypto loans arrives amid a broader revival in crypto-collateralized lending across exchanges, decentralized finance, and traditional financial institutions. Coinbase recently expanded its own collateralized loan product to support additional digital assets, letting eligible US borrowers access up to $100,000 in USDC against tokens such as XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Litecoin -- all without forcing a sale of the underlying holdings.

Outside the exchange sector, US mortgage lender Rate launched RateFi, a program enabling qualified borrowers to use verified cryptocurrency holdings to satisfy underwriting requirements. Under RateFi, digital assets can count toward reserves and, in certain cases, income -- removing the need to liquidate crypto before securing a mortgage.

DeFi and Institutional Capital Fuel Growth

Decentralized lending markets continue to expand rapidly. DeFi lending protocols now hold roughly $51.9 billion in total value locked, with approximately $30.8 billion actively borrowed, according to DefiLlama data. Aave commands nearly half the sector with just under $26.9 billion in TVL, while Morpho protocol trails at around $5.8 billion.

Institutional capital is also pouring into on-chain lending infrastructure. On February 15, Apollo Global Management -- a $940 billion asset manager -- partnered with Morpho to bolster blockchain-based lending, noting it could acquire up to 90 million MORPHO tokens as part of the deal. With exchanges, DeFi protocols, and traditional finance heavyweights all vying for market share, the crypto lending sector appears set for its most significant expansion in years.