Ledn Review (2024) Best & Safest Option?

If you are looking for a place to stash your cash, Ledn may just be the investment vehicle for you. Ledn is less of an exchange and more of a savings account where you can stash Bitcoin and as well as USDC cryptos. 

We can vouch for this platform having checked it out and used it for the past few weeks. 

With the platform being more of a savings vehicle, it may not be the average decentralization maximist’s cup of tea, because it is a regulated and centralized platform. 

If you’re not so hung up on the finer details on decentralization, Ledn may just be the perfect gateway platform as you look to hold a percentage of your wealth in crypto.

Let’s look at some key features users will benefit from if they choose Ledn as their ride into crypto savings. There will be a neat tip on how you can quickly increase the Bitcoin holdings in your possession further down in this review. 

Ledn Overview 

We will rate this exchange on a scale of 1-10 according to our view of its features having interacted with the platform and used it for weeks. Here’s how we rank its top features.

	Rating
Security And Safety	8
Necessary Requirements	8
Pricing And Fees	8
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods	6
Customer Support	7

Who Ledn Is Best For?

Long term investors

Since the platform is more of a savings account than an exchange, it is a good companion for long term investors who prefer to park their money and watch it grow.

A Ledn account enables users to stack their Bitcoin and the value rises in tandem with the value of the coin.

Bitcoin was the best performing asset in 2023, surging more than 150% in what was deemed a relatively quiet period for the cryptocurrency. You can imagine how much long-term investors can accumulate if the coin keeps its upward trajectory as predicted by experts. 

Crypto loan seekers

Having established that the platform is more of a savings account than an exchange, it’s important to note that you can access crypto loans through the platform as well.

The platform offers users a B2X loan and this is how Ledn users are able to increase their BTC holdings quickly. 

With this loan facility, users can buy the number of BTC equivalent to their current holdings and then get a similar amount handed to them on loan. T

his arrangement will see users double their holdings within no time, enabling them to trade for more assets or invest in a new income generating project. 

Old-school savers

If you believe in saving your money over a long period with a view of benefitting from a favorable interest rate, Ledn may be ideal for you.

Saving with the platform will mean that you can earn interest on your BTC and USDC holdings. Savers can gain 6.5% APY in their BTC holdings and 9.50% APY in their USDC stash.

The platform is able to deliver such attractive gains thanks to its lending activities, with most of the platform’s borrowing being done by Genesis. 

Institutional investors

The platform’s loan facility is a big pull for institutional clients, who will get digital asset loans with favorably structured collateral requirements.

We checked out the platform’s history and found out that they were still lending out digital assets during the gloomy 2022 crypto winter period. This is a rarity in an industry characterized by slowdowns and layoffs during market downturns.

Ledn also offers institutional grade yield generation and bespoke lending solutions to hedge funds, venture capital firms, corporate treasuries and high net-worth individuals.

These high-end clients not only benefit from favorable loans and capital appreciation, they also benefit from Ledn’s advisory services and its institutional grade security measures. 

Who Ledn Is Not For

No-KYC clients

Users who prefer to remain incognito will not like Ledn, because there is a KYC/AML check during the account opening phase.

The platform requires users to provide their bank account details, proof of address, and their government issued identification document. Users who are uncomfortable with this should check out non-KYC exchanges such as Changelly and Probit. 

Variety traders

As established earlier in this review, Led is not your typical crypto exchange. It only offers Bitcoin and USDC for lend trading and for savings accounts.

Users who like to bet on Cardano, Litecoin and meme coins like Doge should check out Coinbase for a wider variety of assets. 

Canadian users

Regulatory issues with Canadian financial watchdogs have led to the company deciding to wind down major operations in Canada. Users in Canada will not have access to services such as their BTC savings account, USDC savings account, B2X loans, and BTC and USDC trading. 

This is crippling for Canadian users because they can’t have access to a majority of the benefits that the platform offers.

Users in Canada still have access to a dollar account to make sure they service their digital asset loans, though.

In August 2023, the platform transitioned every Canadian BTC or USDC savings account to a new non-interest earning account for Canadian users to service their loans. 

Ledn Features Explained

Security and Safety

In a post FTX era, safety and security is top on every crypto investor’s mind. Ledn’s safety and security strategy involves two main tenets which are transferability and verifiability, as well as privacy and security. 

Transferability and security

Ledn is the first digital asset lending company in the industry to declare proof of reserves. The company achieved this through Armanino LLP, a top business consulting firm in the United States, in collaboration with Genesis Capital.

The company goes through a periodic proof-of reserves attestation procedure, which leads to the creation of an anonymized hash ID for every client that has a balance on their account. This is done to reassure all clients that their assets are accounted for and protected.

The platform keeps it simple in its approach to investing and does not expose client funds to Defi yield farming. Ledn also ensures security by only dealing with institutional partners that have been vetted rigorously. 

This is an ongoing process that progressively checks the institution’s financial position to avert possible cases of bankruptcy that may end up affecting clients’ funds. This rigorous process ensures that the platform only deals with high-profile and reliable institutions. 

Privacy and security

Ledn ensures user privacy and security through stringent measures that involve encryption through the use of military grade AES-256 account protection. This protects user passwords, HTTPS and other sensitive user information.

An extra layer of security is added by the platform, requiring two factor authentication to login. 

User data is also stored in private servers and fortified by strong networks with thorough security protocols. On top of the state-of-the-art technology deployed to protect user funds and data, the company employs top professionals from top banks in Canada and beyond to add to their expertise. 

There is no reported case of a Ledn account being hacked or users losing money through a glitch of any kind. The company’s systems are solid, with some in the industry regarding their security protocols, the most stringent in the industry.

It also protects user funds through a comprehensive insurance policy with BitGo, a digital asset trust company that has billions of dollars worth of digital currencies in custody. 

The exchange has been rated as top-notch on TrustPilot with raving reviews from many users. A rating of 4.7 is stellar in the crypto industry and the platform also has Ledn listed as verified. 

Opening An Account With Ledn

Opening an account with Ledn is pretty straightforward. Go to the website and sign up by clicking the “Menu” icon on the top right of the page. Sign up filling the form with your name, phone number and email credentials.

Once your account is registered, complete a quick KYC/AML process and proceed to top up your transaction account. Users have a trading maximum limit of $2 million worth of Bitcoin for a single trade a day. The limit for multiple trades in one day is capped at $5 million worth of Bitcoin.

Pricing & Fees

Digital assets held in user transaction accounts are subject to certain minimum and maximum withdrawal limits. The platform does not charge withdrawal fees for their users but exacts a small fee for miners.

Supported Digital Assets	Minimum Withdrawal Limit	Maximum Withdrawal Limit	Withdraw Fees
BTC	0.0005	100/7-day period	miner fees only
ETH	0.009	100/7-day period	0.009
USDC	15	1,000,000/7-day period	15
USDT	15	1,000,000/7-day period	15

Deposit Methods

Once you have a KYC verified account, you can deposit  USDC, USDT, BTC or ETH that you already own from an external wallet into your Ledn account. US users can also choose to link their bank accounts to Ledn and buy USDC that way which will be reflected in their savings accounts.

The process of depositing USDC, USDT, ETH or BTC into your account from another wallet is simple.

• Log in to your Ledn account and USDC, USDT, ETH or BTC on the left hand column
  
• Click the “deposit” button and if this is your first time using the platform you may need to generate an address which will be generated for you in seconds
  
• Copy the address generated or scan the QR code to prepare to receive funds. Scanning the QR code is more advisable to reduce chances of copy and paste errors
  
• Send USDC, USDT, BTC or ETH to that receiving address on an on-chain transfer. Once the transaction has 10 confirmations on the blockchain, you will be all set up and can begin earning interest right away. 

Users can use Ledn transfer for peer-to-peer coin transfers. With Ledn transfer, clients can send USDC, BTC, ETH or USDT to each other though their Ledn handles or through the receiver’s email address.

Users can receive the transferred funds by heading to their transaction accounts and clicking “Accept” on their pending transactions list. The transfers are immediate with no charges levied. 

Withdrawal Methods

You can withdraw your USDC, USDT, BTC or ETH at any time by following a simple 5-step process. 

• If you’re logged in, select the assets you want to withdraw on the left hand side column
• Click the “withdrawal button” 
• Select the amount you want to withdraw and confirm the receiving USDC, USDT, ETH or BTC address
• Insert your 2FA code 
• Click “submit”

Clients can withdraw their funds from their transaction accounts up to 100 BTC or ETH every 7 days and up to 1,000,000 in USDT and USDC within the same period.

Withdrawing or transferring your assets into another wallet takes approximately 4 minutes and it’s not easy to take your cryptos offline if you suspect that there may be a problem with the platform.

A good percentage of user funds are however held in cold storage wallets to minimize the risk of loss. 

Switching Between Currencies and Blockchains

Switching between fiat and cryptos is not straightforward on Ledn, you will need a third party platform to effect this. One such third party platform is El dorado, a platform that allows you to switch from fiat to crypto within no time.

Get started by converting the fiat you have on the platform into USDT by going to the exchange tab and converting your USD to USDT.

Choose your preferred payment method by clicking the filters and then choose your preferred offer. 

Indicate the amount of USDT you want to buy and then confirm the transaction to convert the fiat into USDT. Once that is complete, it’s now time to send these assets to Ledn. This process is simple. 

• Go to the exchange tab again but this time select USDT under “send” and “USD” under receive
  
• Select the Ledn wallet and then pick your preferred offer

• Indicate the amount of USDT you want to convert into USDC in Ledn and confirm the transaction
  
• Once the transaction is confirmed on the counterparty’s end, the conversion is now successful

History Of Downtime

Ledn does not have a reported history of a protracted downtime period that resulted in client damages or major inconvenience. It however has “transfer delays” listed as a possible risk in its risk disclosure statement.

According to the statement, during peak times or times when there is instability on the network, it may not be able to move digital assets to private keys as fast as the user may want. 

Such network delays and congestion may lead to the transaction not being incorporated into a block on the respective blockchain and the account will indicate a failure message. Incase of protracted delays, users are advised to contact Ledn’s customer service for assistance and guidance.

Customer Support

Ledn’s customer support scores a 7 in our book because they don’t have a live chat assistant 24/7. They however have a support form that you can fill out if you need anything and you can also email them at [email protected].

They will address your concerns and may also give you investment advice if your question has to do with investment decisions. 

Alternatives

Ledn compares favorably with some of its competitors in the digital asset lending space such as Nexo, Celsius and BlockFi. Here is a table on how they compare when it comes to interest rates. 

Provider	Interest in 2021	Interest now
Ledn	6.1% APY on up to 2 BTC	5.25% on up to 0.1 BTC
BlockFi	6% APY on up to 2.5 BTC	3% on up to 0.1 BTC
Celsius	6.2% on up to 2 BTC	6.5% on up to 0.1 BTC
Nexo	6% on Bitcoin* with conditions	6% on Bitcoin* with conditions

Source: Cointelegraph

Conclusion

After a thorough review of this platform, we would recommend it for people who are interested in procuring bitcoin-backed loans because the repayment terms are fair on users.

With no fixed monthly premiums, the only risk would be the value of the asset going up, which could mean having to pay back many more coins than you borrowed. 

The platform is secure and you can start earning interest on verified accounts with zero minimum deposit or balance.

Withdrawals are also free and you can now have access to an Ethereum wallet, which was not available on Ledn before. 

Frequently Asked Questions