Crypto Lending Drops to $23.3 Billion as Tether Holds 68% of CeFi Loan Market in Q1

CeFi Crypto Lending Falls 6% arsenic Maple, Nexo and Coinbase Gain Market Share

Centralized concern (CeFi) crypto lending shrank successful the archetypal 4th of 2026, ending much than a twelvemonth of enlargement arsenic weaker integer plus markets pushed borrowers to trim leverage.

According to data from Cryptoquant, full CeFi indebtedness books fell 6% from the erstwhile 4th to $23.3 billion, marking the industry’s archetypal contraction since Q3 2024. The diminution reflects a much cautious borrowing situation arsenic crypto markets stay nether unit and users standard backmost risk.

Tether stayed acold up of the sector, with a $15.8 cardinal indebtedness publication and 68% marketplace share. That dominance held contempt a 7% diminution successful its lending publication during the quarter.

Maple Finance ranked 2nd with $2.1 cardinal successful loans and 9% marketplace share. Nexo followed with $1.8 cardinal and 8% share. Coinbase and Galaxy Digital each held astir 6%, portion bitcoin-backed lender Ledn accounted for 3%.

Source: Cryptoquant

Borrowers Pull Back arsenic Market Weakness Bites

The quarter’s information amusement a lending marketplace moving done controlled deleveraging alternatively than a abrupt recognition shock.

Loan books contracted crossed astir of the sector. Galaxy Digital saw the sharpest diminution among large lenders, with its publication falling 21% 4th implicit quarter. Ledn followed with a 19% drop.

Tether’s 7% diminution was smaller successful percent terms, but much meaningful successful dollar presumption due to the fact that of its scale. Even aft the pullback, its indebtedness publication remained larger than each different tracked CeFi lenders combined.

The industry-wide diminution suggests borrowers are reducing vulnerability successful effect to little plus prices and tighter hazard appetite. In crypto lending, weaker markets often pb to little collateral values, reduced request for leverage and much blimpish underwriting by lenders.

That dynamic has been disposable crossed the broader integer plus marketplace successful 2026. Borrowers that erstwhile utilized crypto-backed loans to money trades, treasury strategies oregon operating needs look to beryllium stepping backmost arsenic volatility remains elevated.

Source: Cryptoquant

Maple, Nexo and Coinbase Gain Ground

Not each lender moved lower.

Coinbase and Maple each expanded their indebtedness books by astir 6% successful Q1. Nexo besides grew, though much modestly, with an summation of astir 1%. They were the lone large lenders successful the covered radical to study indebtedness publication maturation during the quarter.

Those gains translated into market-share shifts. Maple added 1 percent point, Nexo gained 0.5 percent points, and Coinbase added 0.7 percent points.

By contrast, Galaxy mislaid 1.1 percent points of marketplace share, portion Tether slipped 0.7 percent points.

The effect is simply a assemblage inactive heavy concentrated astir Tether, but with incremental gains going to platforms that continued lending done the downturn. Maple’s emergence besides points to increasing organization request for structured onchain credit, portion Coinbase’s enlargement reflects its broader propulsion into fiscal services astir custody, trading and collateralized products.

The first-quarter contraction does not awesome the extremity of CeFi lending. It does amusement that maturation is becoming much selective. In a weaker market, lenders with stronger distribution, clearer collateral controls, and organization relationships are gaining stock portion much exposed equilibrium sheets shrink.