Bitcoin LendingMARKET FIND
Unchained — Bitcoin-Backed Loans and Collaborative Custody
Unchained provides bitcoin-backed loans and custody services built on a collaborative multisig model in which the borrower retains one key to their own collateral at all times. The company originated its first bitcoin-backed loan in June 2017 and reports over $1 billion in total loan originations.
Founded in 2016 by Joe Kelly and Dhruv Bansal, Unchained is a bitcoin financial services company based in Austin, Texas. Its primary product is bitcoin-backed loans, structured so that collateral is held in a 2-of-3 multisig address shared among the borrower, Unchained, and an independent key agent — a model the company calls collaborative custody. Unchained states it does not rehypothecate pledged bitcoin, meaning collateral is not lent to third parties and can be verified on-chain by the borrower at any time. Additional products include a standalone collaborative custody vault service, a bitcoin IRA that preserves client key control, and the open-source Caravan multisig wallet software. The company launched a Private Client service in 2023 and a Signature private banking tier in 2024. Unchained reports securing more than 100,000 BTC across its platform with zero client capital losses. In 2025, Acacia Research Corporation partnered with the firm to purchase commercial bitcoin-backed whole loans originated by an Unchained affiliate.