CeFi Crypto Lending Contracts to $23.3B as Tether Controls 68% of the Loan Market (Q1 2026)

📌 Intel Brief: Centralized crypto lending loan books fell 6% in Q1 2026 to $23.3 billion—the sector’s first quarterly contraction since Q3 2024. Even as volumes dip, Tether stays dominant, holding 68% of the CeFi loan market.
The quarter reshuffled winners and losers: Maple, Nexo, and Coinbase gained share, while Galaxy and Ledn posted the steepest pullbacks. The implication is clear for CeFi credit—aggregate liquidity softens in the near term, and market share shifts toward lenders better positioned to navigate risk, demand, and competitive pressures across the CeFi crypto lending landscape.
Despite the decline, Tether remains the clear leader: its stablecoin accounts for 68% of the CeFi lending market. During the period, Maple, Nexo, and Coinbase increased their market share, while Galaxy and Ledn saw the steepest declines in their loan book volumes.
Overall, the move points to an internal reallocation of capital within CeFi, with some platforms gaining traction while others face increased pressure—against a backdrop of more selective demand and risk appetite.
This is a summarized and adapted version by Artificial Intelligence. To read the complete original story, visit the official source.
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