What’s changing & when?
- As of January 4, 2023, Canadian clients will no longer be able to take out new B2X loans.
- As of February 1, 2023, Canadian clients will no longer be able to open a new BTC or USDC Savings Account, deposit BTC or USDC to existing Savings Accounts, or earn yield on any existing BTC or USDC Savings Account balances (ie. interest rates applicable to Savings Accounts held by Canadian clients as of February 1, 2023 will be 0%).
- Canadian clients will have until July 31, 2023 (“Sunset Period”) to withdraw their funds from their Savings Accounts. After the Sunset Period, the funds will still appear on the Ledn platform, but the clients will have to contact Ledn’s client success team to arrange for the funds to be withdrawn. Clients will continue to have the ability to trade between their existing BTC and USDC balances until July 31, 2023, in order to facilitate the client’s withdrawal in the asset of their choice.
- As of January 4th, 2023, any existing B2X loans with a maturity date after January 4, 2023, will not be eligible for renewal. Clients will have the option of closing their B2X loan at any time up to and including their loan’s maturity date, or may choose to refinance their B2X loan with a regular bitcoin-backed loan. The option of refinancing a B2X loan will not be available for clients residing in Quebec (“QC”), New Brunswick (“NB”), Nova Scotia (“NS”), and Saskatchewan (“SK”) after March 31, 2023.
- As of April 1, 2023, Ledn Bitcoin-backed loans will not be available to residents in the provinces of QC, NB, NS, and SK. Clients residing in these provinces with any matured Bitcoin-backed loans will not be eligible for renewal on and after this date. There are no changes to Bitcoin-backed loan product availability in other Canadian provinces.
Our client success team is available to help you understand how best to manage your account going forward. You can reach out to them at support@ledn.io to get personalized support with your account.
Why are the changes happening?
Since 2021, Ledn has been working collaboratively with Canadian regulators to determine a constructive regulatory pathway in Canada for Ledn’s business.
As a result of such discussions, Ledn has made the decision to wind-down its existing BTC and USDC Savings Accounts and B2X loans in Canada.
Ledn will continue to offer Bitcoin-backed loans to Canadian residents, except for residents of QC, NB, NS, and SK after March 31, 2023.
These changes have no impact on Ledn’s product offering outside of Canada.
Ledn looks forward to reaching back out to Canadian clients when it is in a position to re-introduce additional products to clients in Canada.
What actions do I need to take?
There are no actions you need to take as a Ledn client without any active loans.
If you are a B2X or Bitcoin-backed loan client, there are changes as to how you can manage your loan from February 1, 2023 onwards – read on for more details.
How are Savings Accounts impacted?
As of February 1st, 2023, all of your existing BTC and USDC Savings Account balances will stop earning interest. There will be no changes to your ability to withdraw your assets. However, you will no longer be able to deposit new funds into your BTC or USDC Savings Account.
Canadian clients will have until July 31, 2023 (“Sunset Period”) to withdraw their funds from their Savings Accounts. After the Sunset Period, the funds will still appear on the Ledn platform, but the clients will have to contact Ledn’s client success team to arrange for the funds to be withdrawn.
How is Trade impacted?
Until July 31st, 2023, clients will continue to have the ability to trade between their existing BTC and USDC balances on the Ledn platform in order to facilitate the client’s withdrawal in the asset of their choice.
In all other cases, the Trade service between BTC and USDC will no longer be available to Canadian clients as of February 1, 2023.
How is B2X impacted?
As of January 4th, 2023, Canadian clients will no longer be able to take a new B2X loan.
Any existing B2X loans with a maturity date after January 4, 2023 will not be eligible for renewal. Clients will have the option of closing their B2X loan at any time up to and including their loan’s maturity date, or may choose to refinance their B2X loan with a regular bitcoin-backed loan. The option of refinancing a B2X loan will not be available for clients residing in QC, NB, NS, and SK after March 31, 2023.
Here is how the management of your loan will change going forward from February 1, 2023:
Managing your loan:
- As of February 1, 2023, you’ll no longer be able to add new BTC to your BTC Savings Account in order to top up your BTC collateral from your Savings Account.
- Any existing BTC balance you have as of February 1, 2023 in your BTC Savings Account can be used to top up your loan to avoid having it liquidated if it reaches 80% LTV. This functionality will be available until July 31, 2023.
- If you don’t have enough BTC in your Savings Account to top up your loan, you’ll still be able to send BTC from an external address directly to your loan collateral address. You can learn more about this process here.
- Auto Top-up: Up until July 31, 2023,auto loan top-ups will continue to work as long as you have enough existing BTC in your Savings Account as of February 1, 2023 to top the loan up and reduce your LTV. You can learn more here.
- Renewing your loan: Any existing B2X loans with a maturity date after January 4, 2023 will not be eligible for renewal. Clients will have the option of closing their B2X loan at any time up to and including their loan’s maturity date, or may choose to refinance their B2X loan with a regular bitcoin-backed loan. The option of refinancing a B2X loan will not be available for clients residing in QC, NB, NS, and SK after March 31, 2023.
Our client success team is available to help you manage your loan, and can be reached at support@ledn.io.
How are Bitcoin-backed loans impacted?
There are no changes to the availability of Bitcoin-backed loans for Canadian clients, including the ability to take out a new Bitcoin-backed loan or renew or refinance an existing one, except for residents of QC, NB, NS, and SK after March 31, 2023.
There are some changes to how you can manage your Bitcoin-backed loan as of February 1, 2023:
Managing your loan:
- As of February 1, 2023, you’ll no longer be able to add new BTC to your BTC Savings Account in order to top up your BTC collateral from your Savings Account.
- Any existing BTC balance you have as of February 1, 2023 in your BTC Savings Account can be used to top up your loan to avoid having it liquidated if it reaches 80% LTV. This functionality will be available until July 31, 2023.
- If you don’t have enough BTC in your Savings Account to top up your loan, you’ll still be able to send BTC from an external address directly to your loan collateral address. You can learn more about this process here.
- Auto Top-up: Up until July 31, 2023, auto loan top-ups will continue to work as long as you have enough existing BTC in your Savings Account to top up the loan and reduce your LTV. You can learn more here.
- As of April 1, 2023, Ledn Bitcoin-backed loans will not be available to residents in the provinces of QC, NB, NS, and SK. Clients residing in these provinces with any matured Bitcoin-backed loans will not be eligible for renewal on and after this date. There are no changes to Bitcoin-backed loan product availability in other Canadian provinces.
How is the Referral Program Impacted?
The referral program will no longer be available for Canadian residents.
What should I do if I have a balance below the minimum withdrawal amount/fee in BTC and USDC?
BTC and USDC withdrawals do incur network fees which make withdrawals below our withdrawal threshold unfeasible.
In the event that your balance is below 0.0005 BTC or 15 USDC, you’re encouraged to top up your account in order to cover any withdrawal fees. Please reach out to support@ledn.io to get personalized support with your account if you have any additional questions.
Canadian clients who have balances below this threshold (0.0005 BTC/15 USDC) after July 31, 2023 will be deemed to have such balances forfeited to Ledn, which in turn will donate them to the not-for-profit organization Bitcoin for Fairness (https://bffbtc.org/).
*Note: at current price levels, the fees to withdraw BTC are below the 15 USDC withdrawal fee.
How can I learn more and get help managing the changes to my Ledn account?
Our client success team is available to help you understand how best to manage your account going forward. You can reach out to them at support@ledn.io to get personalized support with your account.