Name: Adam Reeds, Ledn
Uploaded: 2025-03-14T20:25:00.000Z
Duration: 15 min

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More from theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Crypto Trailblazers

Adam Reeds

CEO

Ledn

play_circle_outline Ledn's mission and products in the crypto and blockchain space

play_circle_outline Regulatory environment and market optimism for crypto in the US

play_circle_outline Excitement around Bitcoin's mainstream adoption and changing savings habits

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Adam Reeds, Ledn

Adam Reeds

CEO Ledn

>> Welcome back everyone to theCUBE Studios here in Palo Alto. I'm John Furrier, your host of theCUBE. We are here for the Crypto Trailblazer as part of theCUBE series highlighting the leaders in crypto, blockchain, product development, bringing in a new era and this next wave of crypto innovation as the mainstream and the insiders who are building it are going to continue to scale it out. We've got Adam Reeds here, the CEO of Ledn, who's building some really amazing products on the chain and in space, helping people move things around, move money, trade, lend, do things. Part of the theme, Adam, is right up your alley. Thanks for coming on all the way in from the Cayman Islands.

Adam Reeds

>> That's right. John, great to speak with you today. How are you doing?

>> Great to have you. Talk about Ledn, what you guys do. Let's set the table, set some context, spend a minute, talk about what you guys do.

Adam Reeds

>> Of course. Yeah. We got started six and a half years ago on the thought that at the time you could custody digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but you couldn't do many other things with them other than trade them. And so we thought in the lending space specifically, if you can access financing for things like auto loans, real estate of course, and even fine art, why not make sure that you could do the same thing with digital assets? And so we created a Bitcoin backed loan in the summer of 2018 and have been really expanding on that narrative. And really what's been exciting for us is Bitcoin is the same to everyone anywhere in the globe. And so when you think about that versus financing something like real estate, you can really equalize financial services. And so we've been building with Bitcoin at its core and have had quite a bit of success doing that.

>> Yeah, I love the Bitcoin momentum. Obviously on chain's phenomenal, assets being embedded in multiple technology innovations, really entrepreneurial action happening, bringing in a lot of commercial opportunities. What's the market like right now as people start to see the shift really around all kinds of money movement going on? What do you guys see specifically in your market?

Adam Reeds

>> It's been a big shift. So I think what happens is every time there's a Bitcoin bull run and the price increases... Price is the best marketer. So it brings in different types of people and different types of groups. And in the last cycle, in the big cycle in 2021, I think what happened was the institutions started to do a lot of work. And so we saw banks getting interested in the asset class, pension funds even coming in and this cycle, they're ready. And so what's interesting is we're having a lot of different conversations with large institutions now about how they can get involved in the Bitcoin lending space. Lending is the oldest type of financial product there is, so what better way to get banks involved than in the lending space? So we're spending a lot of time educating and helping to bring different groups up to speed as to how they can participate. So that's been interesting this cycle.

>> What's interesting and what's great about that is that's an example of what we're seeing. I mean obviously the early adopter markets always have the same pattern. Money first, trading's great, but the real thing, whether it's assets coming on chain, is you're starting to real businesses come on the chain. And I think that's a great use case. How is that affecting your business model? Are you guys making adjustments? You see your business changing? What are you doing specifically to capture that growth?

Adam Reeds

>> So we're in the business of aggregating dollars so that clients don't have to sell their Bitcoin or other digital assets. And so what we're focused on is making sure that we can deliver those dollars at the lowest cost possible. So we operate a spread business and to the extent that there's more people interested or more institutions interested in lending dollars against Bitcoin, it's better for all of our clients. What's great about it is, again, we're in the business of distributing Bitcoin-backed loans all over the world. And so what we can do is we can take institutions on Wall Street who want to, say, earn eight 9% on dollars and help them distribute that so that someone say in Colombia, Argentina, Spain, other places in Europe or really around the world can borrow those dollars. And so we can operate an institutional model, but again, have much greater distribution because of the virtual aspect of this asset class.

>> Adam, talk about the products and technology you guys have to do that. Is there integration involved? You seeing people integrate in? Other waves that I've been involved in the classic computer industry, you have the main brands emerge, thank you very much. And then all of a sudden I want to integrate in. Obviously you've got the features of the infrastructure on blockchain that are great, obviously transparency, all the things we talk about. Then you start to see the services come in. That's where you're playing. What are some of the things you're doing with the product and the technology to facilitate less friction?

Adam Reeds

>> Of course. So we have two sides of Ledn's products really to group them in broad terms. We have our core lending products which allow clients to not sell their Bitcoin and we have our yield products that allow clients to earn interest on their Bitcoin or stablecoins. When it comes to the core lending products, what we have to do is make sure we're integrated with trading partners and we can also store that Bitcoin securely. So what we've done is spent a lot of time iterating on who are the best partners that we should be trading with? Who are the best custodians that we can make sure we keep Bitcoin secure? And then how to deliver the best user experience. So our favorite saying in the company is, "The best restaurants have the smallest menu." And what we mean by that is when you have a really tight curated list of products and you do that really well, you have a short list of ingredients, it's a better experience for everyone. So we've really been focused on how do we simplify and bring traditional financial products into the space without overly complicating it? And it's building up that technology so it's easier for the user and client to interact with in a few simple steps.

>> I love that simplicity message. I mean that's a classic value proposition that always works in these new waves. Make it simple, easy to use, intuitive. I mean that's a formula for success, just right there. You hit all three, that's the trifecta. Big time.

Adam Reeds

>> That's it. Yeah, I mean every major brand is this. I mean you look at Tesla, you have Model Y, you have a couple options, you got a Model S, but you don't have 50 different ways. I think the car companies that are offering many different options are suffering and those that have simplified do well. So we've done the same thing with digital assets. The industry is complicated enough on its own and we have to keep it simple for our clients.

>> And you get that value immediately realized, get that time to value faster, see the value on the assets, look at the transparency. I'll talk about conventional benefits. You mentioned security, which is huge. That's a big piece of the puzzle. Everyone's top of mind, no one wants their stuff stolen. That's an area everyone builds in. What's your view and vision on the security aspect?

Adam Reeds

>> Extremely important. So we call it information security at Ledn because not only do we need to keep our clients' digital assets safe, we also have to keep their information safe. And so obviously privacy is a big issue in the space. So we take that incredibly seriously and it's an ethos that we do all the way from the first interview when we bring someone into the company. Day in, day out, it's everyone's responsibility at Ledn to keep that information secure. So we have a common saying in Ledn, "Be the human firewall." We want to make sure that we have that mentality in both on the engineering side, but even every different aspect of different skill sets within Ledn, we breed that day in and day out.

>> Yeah, great vision, love that philosophy. Definitely get my thumbs up on that. Plus one, exclamation point, all that's in there. Talk about the customer base. Obviously in the traditional transition, brick and mortar, digital, cloud, now we've got decentralized. What's the customer base look like? Describe how you see that. What are some of the value extractions that they're getting from you guys?

Adam Reeds

>> Sure. So I often get asked, "Do we have more institutional customers or more retailer, high net worth individuals?" And I say it's actually completely matched on the dollar or Bitcoin side. If we think about our lending business, our borrowers are individuals, but the supply of capital is institutions. We're going from crypto-friendly banks and we're really matchmaking in between that. As far as geographies, we started the business in Canada. I'm Canadian, we moved the business to the Cayman Islands once we received regulatory approval there a year and a half ago, but our client base is fairly global, but we have a focus on North America, Latin America, South America, where my business partner and co-founder is from. And then we've got a decent business in Europe as well with a smattering of, I know, growth in other markets, but we're basically a third North America, a third Lat-Am, and a third Europe.

>> Yeah, it is crazy. It's a global ecosystem. Anyway there's really no barriers, no walls. There is regulatory concern. Thoughts on a regulatory environment. Obviously people say it's the springtime in crypto, not yet summer. We're not at the beach yet, although you are in the Cayman Islands, great place to live. We're starting to see a very strong momentum push. We're feeling it. Obviously it's just still a little bit of headwinds, but I think it's died down from hurricane force environment to much more tolerable. Obviously there's enthusiasm. Confidence now kicks in. Talk about that dynamic of the confidence levels. Enthusiasm is high. We see certainly in the Bay Area this week a lot of activity. Ethereum Foundation is in town, Bitcoin engineers and entrepreneurs are rocking, institutions are coming on board, big money players, big business players coming in. What's your vibe on the market and that tailwind potentially coming soon?

Adam Reeds

>> Yeah, I mean with the US specifically, it's done a complete U-turn. Ever since the new administration came in, we've been saying, "How do we get more involved in the US versus less involved?" Which was the attitude a year ago. Everyone was moving outside trying to figure out how they take advantage of non-US markets. Now it's, "How do we take advantage of the US market with the momentum that's happening?" The regulation of digital assets is a big deal and I think many people are looking for clarity on it. I think what we're looking for is consistency. That's the best way is you want to have the same rules that do protect consumers, but in the broadest market possible to get the most bang for your buck and the biggest ROI and the investments you're making from a regulatory perspective. And frankly, that's why the US is exciting because of how large a market it is. And then when we get that clarity, we'll come in. So the US is an important market for Ledn. We're excited by it and we're seeing more and more growth in our own volumes. It was probably about 30% of our business a year ago. Now it's 40% of our lending business. So it's increasing quite quickly.

>> And it's probably massive growth opportunities for you guys. So looking forward to seeing-

Adam Reeds

>> Absolutely.

>> How that plays out. And it's great to have you on. And again, businesses are coming online. In the chain, you're seeing a lot more advancements. Again, it's evolution, it's happening fast. So I have to ask you what are you excited about right now? If you had to look at some of the things, is it the environment? Is it the tech, is it the customers? What is the coolest thing that's getting you super excited?

Adam Reeds

>> I think the coolest thing is maybe not that exciting for most, it's just how clear Bitcoin is now. Bitcoin is a household name. So I think we used to spend a lot of time explaining the value prop of Bitcoin. I think that work is getting done for us. And so if you think about what we have to do in our business, we have to find people that believe in Bitcoin, we have to find people that don't want to sell their Bitcoin, and then we have to find people that understand a loan. So the more the market's educating that, the better it is for Ledn. The other theme that I'm very excited about and I speak about frequently is the change in, I think, consumer savings habits. And I think especially for younger people, the idea of buying your first home I think is changing. And I think this is important because I think as people move around, especially with remote work and these things, why are you obsessed with buying a home in the town maybe you grew up in when you can have something like Bitcoin that can move with you as your career advances into different markets? And so I think that's a massive switch and I think as people get comfortable saving in Bitcoin versus saving in real estate, that's going to have massive compounding effects as far as how quickly Bitcoin gets adopted and therefore... What we're excited about the ancillary services that are needed to support the asset class.

>> Yeah, it's really a great wave you can ride on and store of value is so strong there. And again, no argument on our side here. We're totally with you on that one. We love Michael Saylor's vibe. We love when he is out there pumping up the education, but also the services around it. Although he's got a business with MicroStrategy, yeah, check, I agree with him. But you're bringing up something better, which is the services can integrate. That's a huge piece. What's your reaction to that?

Adam Reeds

>> Yeah, look, I mean, we're trying to make Bitcoin easier to use in that you can access dollars against it and not have to sell it. So similar to the way you use a home and you can access a home equity line of credit, we want to do the same thing with Bitcoin. And each time... There has been volatility in Bitcoin, of course, but I think that's getting less and less every cycle. And I think as people get more comfortable with it being a true store of value, we will see the adoption of the services improve and grow.

>> Adam, final question for you. Obviously a lot of people have been holding Bitcoin, they want to put it to use. What's your advice to folks out there that's sitting there with their wallets' self-custody or whatever they have, have good store of value, how do they put it to work? They just call you up and say, "Hey, lend me some cash?" Is it fiat? How does it work?

Adam Reeds

>> Yeah, so I think my first place of advice is diversification. Even in self-custody, use different methods, store Bitcoin in several different ways, and make sure you understand all the different ways you can approach it. And then once you do need access to liquidity, we have a great loan product for it. Or if you don't need dollars, but you still want to hold onto your Bitcoin long term, you can access yield on your Bitcoin. And some of that is facilitated through the ETF, arbitrage that's available today. And that's where we're facilitating at Ledn is different yields and borrowing opportunities.

>> Great stuff. Final question is, okay, people watching, when should they call you? They want to put their coin to work, their Bitcoin to work. They're looking to get some cash, get some asset. What's the main driver for folks to call you?

Adam Reeds

>> The main use case is you don't want to sell your Bitcoin and maybe you want to purchase your first investment, you may want to purchase real estate or at smaller levels, maybe you have expenses you want to cover. And again, you don't want to lose the upside in your Bitcoin. It's also an important tax planning tool in many jurisdictions as well. So you can check us out. We're at ledn.io. HODLwithLedn on X. And so we have clients using it for all different purposes all over the world.

>> Adam, thanks for taking the time, coming in from the Cayman Islands, and appreciate what you do. And again, trailblazing like the rest of the folks here. Thanks for coming on.

Adam Reeds

>> Thanks so much, John. Appreciate your time.

>> Okay. I'm John Furrier here inside the Palo Alto Studios of theCUBE, your host. Thanks for watching.

Adam Reeds, Ledn

Adam Reeds

>> That's right. John, great to speak with you today. How are you doing?

>> Great to have you. Talk about Ledn, what you guys do. Let's set the table, set some context, spend a minute, talk about what you guys do.

Adam Reeds

>> And it's probably massive growth opportunities for you guys. So looking forward to seeing-

Adam Reeds

>> Absolutely.

Adam Reeds

>> Adam, thanks for taking the time, coming in from the Cayman Islands, and appreciate what you do. And again, trailblazing like the rest of the folks here. Thanks for coming on.

Adam Reeds

>> Thanks so much, John. Appreciate your time.

>> Okay. I'm John Furrier here inside the Palo Alto Studios of theCUBE, your host. Thanks for watching.