- Aven launched the Aven Bitcoin Visa Card, a bitcoin-backed line of credit accessible through a Visa credit card.
- Borrowers pledge bitcoin as collateral, with custody infrastructure provided by BitGo Inc. and BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association.
- Aven is extending its asset-backed credit model into crypto, after building its business around home-equity-backed credit cards.
Machine banking platform Aven is bringing Bitcoin-backed borrowing to the credit-card market.
The San Francisco-based fintech today (April 27, 2026) launched the Aven Bitcoin Visa Card, a credit card tied to a bitcoin-backed line of credit. The product offers credit lines of $1 million, with rates starting at 7.99% APR, the company mentioned in the details shared with AlexaBlockchain.
Aven was founded in 2019 by former Facebook and Square executives Sadi Khan, Collin Wikman and Murtada Shah.
The company calls its model “machine banking” — a technology-driven approach to underwriting and managing secured consumer credit across assets such as home equity — and now bitcoin — so customers may access larger credit lines at lower rates.
The company reached unicorn status in 2024 after a $142 million Series D led by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, and raised another $110 million in 2025 at a $2.2 billion valuation. Its backers include Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Caffeinated Capital, GIC, Electric Capital, Founders Fund and The General Partnership.
Aven has issued more than $3 billion in aggregate credit lines and saved homeowners more than $215 million in interest since inception. This achievement gives it a stronger consumer-credit track record than many crypto-native lenders now trying to rebuild confidence after the 2022 lending-market collapse.
The Aven Bitcoin Visa Card is aimed at long-term bitcoin holders who want access to liquidity without selling their holdings.
That matters because selling bitcoin can trigger a taxable event. Borrowing against it may allow holders to access cash while retaining exposure to the asset’s future price moves, though tax treatment depends on individual circumstances.
“Bitcoin is becoming a bigger part of people’s lives and net worth, but using bitcoin productively remains challenging,” Sisun Lee, Head of Crypto at Aven, said in a statement shared with AlexaBlockchain.
“We built the Aven Bitcoin Visa Card to give bitcoin holders the opportunity to borrow against their bitcoin and access their line of credit through a credit card with lower rates, better terms and rich rewards.”
The card is issued by Coastal Community Bank, a Washington state-chartered bank, and runs on Visa’s network. Aven said the product has no annual or origination fees and offers unlimited 2% cash back on purchases.
The collateral structure is central to the pitch.
Borrowers deposit bitcoin as collateral with BitGo Inc. and BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association. BitGo says BitGo Bank & Trust is a national trust bank chartered and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Aven said it does not rehypothecate or lend out pledged bitcoin.
That is a deliberate contrast with the last crypto credit cycle. During the 2020-2022 boom, crypto lenders attracted customers with high yields and easy borrowing, but several collapsed after token prices fell and counterparties failed.
Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 after freezing withdrawals during market stress. Reuters reported at the time that the filing came after a sharp crypto-market downturn cut off access to customer funds.
BlockFi filed for bankruptcy later that year, citing exposure to FTX, and listed FTX as one of its largest creditors.
Those failures reshaped the market.
Newer products now tend to emphasize custody, collateral segregation and lower counterparty risk rather than yield. Aven’s use of BitGo, and its claim that customer bitcoin will not be rehypothecated, places the product inside that post-crisis lending reset.
The rate is also part of the competitive story.
A March 2026 comparison by Ledn listed bitcoin-backed loan rates from several providers, including Ledn at 9.99% to 11.49% for one-year loans, Nexo at 18.9% before token-linked discounts, Crypto.com at up to 12%, and Wirex at 14% for BTC-backed credit.
Ledn’s April 2026 U.S. crypto lending comparison also cited Unchained at 16.6%, SALT at 14.5%, Coinbase Borrow at 8%, and Strike at 9.5% for bitcoin-backed loans.
Aven’s headline starting APR of 7.99% therefore positions the card near the lower end of listed bitcoin-backed borrowing rates, though final pricing will depend on borrower eligibility, collateral, and product terms.
The more unusual feature is not just the rate.
It is the credit-card wrapper.
Most bitcoin-backed loans are structured as term loans or credit lines funded to a bank account or in stablecoins. Aven is trying to make the collateralized line usable at the point of spending, closer to a conventional card experience.
That is consistent with Aven’s broader business model.
The company built its name around asset-backed credit cards, especially home-equity-linked cards. Aven raised $110 million in Series E funding in September 2025 at a $2.2 billion post-money valuation.
Its existing home-equity card model links consumer borrowing to collateral, attempting to offer lower rates than unsecured credit cards. NerdWallet notes that Aven’s home-equity card is secured by the borrower’s home and requires home equity to qualify.
The bitcoin product applies a similar logic to digital assets.
For Aven, the opportunity is to convert bitcoin from a passive holding into consumer-credit collateral. For the crypto market, it is another sign that lenders are trying to rebuild around regulated partners, custody infrastructure and more conservative risk controls.
Still, the risks are not removed.
Bitcoin-backed loans can expose borrowers to margin calls or liquidation if the price of bitcoin falls sharply. Ledn’s lending guide notes that if collateral value drops too far, crypto-backed loans may be partially or fully liquidated to cover the loan.
There is also counterparty and custody risk.
BitGo’s own disclosures state that digital assets can fluctuate significantly and may become worthless, and that digital assets held in custody are not protected by FDIC or SIPC insurance.
That makes the product different from an ordinary rewards card.
A borrower is not only using credit. They are pledging bitcoin in a volatile collateral arrangement, while using the proceeds through a consumer-payment product.
The launch also arrives as institutional crypto infrastructure becomes more public and regulated.
BitGo listed on the New York Stock Exchange in January 2026, raising $212.8 million in an IPO and reaching a valuation of about $2.59 billion in its debut, Reuters reported.
That public-market presence may help Aven make the case that its bitcoin collateral stack is more institutional than the crypto lenders that collapsed in 2022.
The broader test will be whether bitcoin holders want leverage embedded in a daily-spend product.
For some, the card could make sense as a liquidity tool: borrow instead of sell, keep bitcoin exposure, and use a familiar Visa card interface.
For others, it adds a new risk layer to a volatile asset.
Aven’s launch shows where crypto credit is heading after the industry’s lending blowups: lower advertised rates, regulated partners, custody-focused collateral structures and consumer interfaces that look more like mainstream finance.
The article “The $2.2 Billion Fintech Behind Home-Equity Credit Cards Is Now Targeting Bitcoin Holders” was first published on AlexaBlockchain. Read the complete article here: https://alexablockchain.com/22-billion-fintech-behind-home-equity-credit-cards-is-now-targeting-bitcoin-holders/
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