Galoy Debuts Lana Platform to Increase Access to Bitcoin-Backed Lending

Galoy has debuted a tool to meet what it calls “soaring” demand for bitcoin-backed loans.

The company, maker of digital-asset-centric banking software, announced Thursday (Feb. 6) the launch of Lana, a lending platform designed to increase access to digital asset-backed lending.

“Built for flexibility and speed to market, Lana enables smaller challenger and community banks to bring to market fiat loans secured by bitcoin collateral—providing an attractive means for their customers to access liquidity without selling bitcoin,” the company said in a news release.

Lana, the release adds, is designed to simplify the work involved in offering digital asset-backed lending, including loan creation, approval workflows, fee and interest, calculation, and managing margin calls and liquidation.

In addition, the platform lets banks’ business and personal customers unlock liquidity from their bitcoin while keeping ownership of their assets, allowing borrowers to avoid capital gains taxes and “maintain exposure to bitcoin’s long-term growth potential.”

Galoy also notes that Lana integrates with core banking systems, cryptocurrency custodians, and exchanges and is designed to meet “rigorous” regulatory standards.

“Lana equips banks with the tools to offer bitcoin-backed loans confidently and efficiently, creating new opportunities for growth while meeting evolving client needs,” said Nicolas Burtey, founder at Galoy. “We are proud to introduce a platform that supports financial institutions in navigating the future of banking.”

The launch of Lana comes amid a changing landscape for cryptocurrency in the U.S., as PYMNTS wrote earlier this week after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s new crypto task force went live.

“Putting an exclamation point on the change of heart, last week the agency transferred the internal lawyer in charge of its many high-profile crypto lawsuits, Jorge Tenreiro, to an IT role,” that report said.

“The SEC’s pivot isn’t happening in a vacuum. Pressure is mounting from Congress, crypto investors, and the White House to modernize the regulatory approach to digital assets.”

Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Blockchain’s Benefits for Regulated Industries” shows that blockchain technology has a number of potential benefits to meet the unique needs of regulated industries such as finance.

“The largest financial institutions are eager to explore tokenized assets,” Nikola Plecas, head of commercialization, Visa Crypto, said in an interview with PYMNTS in October, but he added that they first need regulatory certainty to do so at scale.