Shakepay, a CIRO-registered Canadian crypto platform with greater than 1.5 million customers, started rolling out bitcoin-backed loans on April 21, 2026, making it the primary crypto buying and selling platform in Canada to supply such a product.
Key Takeaways:
- Shakepay launched bitcoin-backed loans on April 21, 2026, changing into the primary crypto platform in Canada to supply the product.
- Loans carry a 9.5% $APR, cap at $50,000 CAD, and are backed by a 3-year exemptive reduction choice from Quebec’s AMF.
- CEO Jean Amiouny says the characteristic is rolling out progressively, with larger mortgage limits anticipated over time.
Canada’s Shakepay Provides Bitcoin-Collateralized Loans Following AMF Exemptive Aid
CEO Jean Amiouny introduced the launch on X, calling bitcoin-backed loans probably the most requested options for the reason that firm was based. “For individuals who by no means need to promote and stay on a bitcoin commonplace, borrowing in opposition to your bitcoin is likely one of the strongest monetary merchandise out there,” Amiouny wrote.
The product permits Canadian residents to borrow fiat foreign money in opposition to their bitcoin holdings with out promoting. Debtors keep away from triggering taxable occasions {that a} sale would sometimes produce beneath Canadian tax guidelines.
Loans carry a 9.5% $APR with a minimal of $100 CAD and a present most of $50,000 CAD, with limits anticipated to extend over time. There aren’t any origination charges and no early reimbursement penalties. Funds can be found inside minutes of approval, deposited straight right into a consumer’s Shakepay account or linked financial institution.
Collateral is held in segregated cold and warm wallets by authorised third-party custodians, together with Coinbase Custody. Not less than 95% of collateral should sit with a third-party custodian when the loan-to-value ratio falls beneath the margin threshold. Shakepay has confirmed there isn’t any rehypothecation of consumer collateral, besides in liquidation situations.
The platform displays LTV in actual time. Margin name notices exit at 80% LTV, and automated liquidation may be triggered at 90% LTV to cowl excellent balances. A 3% liquidation processing charge applies in these instances.
The launch follows an exemptive reduction choice issued April 9, 2026, by the Autorité des marches financiers, Quebec’s securities regulator, with passport protection to different Canadian provinces and territories. The choice applies to Shakepay Credit score Inc., an entirely owned subsidiary, and grants a three-year exemption from vendor registration and prospectus necessities for crypto-backed lending preparations.
Underneath the phrases of that reduction, loans are denominated in CAD or USD and structured as time period loans or revolving traces of credit score starting from three months to 3 years. Collateral is at the moment restricted to bitcoin and ether except regulators approve further belongings.
Debtors should be Canadian residents who’ve accomplished KYC by way of Shakepay Inc. Purchasers should additionally acknowledge a compulsory Mortgage Threat Assertion overlaying volatility, custody dangers, and the absence of CIPF protection. Regulatory filings additionally prohibit debtors from utilizing mortgage proceeds to buy further cryptocurrency.
Shakepay reached a number of regulatory milestones earlier than this launch. The corporate registered with CIRO as an funding vendor in January 2025, changing into the primary Quebec-based crypto platform to take action. In Could 2025, it grew to become the primary crypto-native firm admitted to Funds Canada.
The characteristic is being enabled progressively. Not all customers will see it on the app’s dwelling display instantly. Eligible prospects can entry the product straight by way of the Shakepay app as soon as it seems of their account.
Bitcoin-backed loans have been out there by way of platforms equivalent to Ledn and numerous decentralized protocols, however Shakepay’s entry brings a regulated, home choice to Canadian debtors working beneath provincial securities oversight.
Shakepay has confirmed that no consumer deposits are used to fund loans and that the corporate information audited financials with regulators as required beneath the AMF choice.
Canadian prospects who maintain bitcoin and wish entry to liquidity now have a regulated path to borrow in opposition to these holdings with out exiting their place. Shakepay says the present rollout is gradual, and customers can examine the app dwelling display to see if the characteristic has been enabled for his or her account.
