CryptoQuant: 2026 Market Cooldown Fuels Surge in Crypto-Backed Lending

News Editor

2026-09-06 21:33:42

A CryptoQuant report reveals that as the 2026 market weakens, crypto holders are increasingly turning to asset-backed loans. Retail borrowers saw a 74% surge in average loans, while high-net-worth individuals shifted collateral from Bitcoin to Zcash. Tether and Bitcoin remain top trading pairs, with USDC rising to third.

A fresh report from CryptoQuant says the 2026 market downturn is pushing cryptocurrency holders toward loans backed by digital assets. Using data from the lending platform CoinRabbit, the report points to heavier borrowing from both retail users and high-net-worth (HNW) clients.

Lending Activity Diverges

Retail users posted the sharpest change. Average loans per user leapt from 30.8 in 2025 to 53.5 in 2026, a 74% increase. HNW users had a smaller bump, going from 16.5 to 19.4 loans, an 18% gain. And the share of repeat borrowers rose too, from 61.9% to 65.1%. A sign of deeper dependence on lending services.

Collateral Preferences Shift

The collateral mix changed. Quite a bit. Among HNW users, Bitcoin's share dropped from 57.8% to 30.5%, while Zcash jumped to 24.2%. Retail users still prefer XRP as collateral, but its share slipped from 41.7% to 35.2%. As for trading volume, Tether and Bitcoin are still the top two pairs, with USD Coin now in third place.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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