Independent·Published methodology·No paid rankings

Bitcoin products,
compared — by one
safety methodology.

Pledge tracks 54 loans, ETFs, custodians, and dollar-products. Same fields, every provider. Sources linked on every row. Reviewed on a recurring cadence.

See Editor's Picks or read the methodology · v3.2 →

Scored

Safety factors

v3.2

Methodology

Market snapshot
Sep 14

9.00%

Median BTC loan APR
across 17 lenders

0.23%

Median ETF expense ratio
across 12 ETFs

$58.8B

Largest ETF AUM
IBIT leads

6.5

Median Pledge Score
stablecoins · 14 tracked

Full dashboard →

Browse by goal

Tell us what you want to do with your bitcoin.

Each path opens a comparison table with identical fields, identical methodology, and a sourced citation on every figure.

New to Bitcoin? Start with the basics Or take the 2-minute quiz

Borrow

Take a USD loan against your BTC without selling. APR, LTV, rehypothecation risk, custody model.

17 lenders

Hold via ETF

Spot BTC inside an IRA, 401(k), or any brokerage. Expense ratio, AUM, custody chain.

12 ETFs

Self-custody

Hold your own keys. Multisig setups, collaborative custody, inheritance plans, recovery audits.

11 providers

Park in dollars

Stablecoins and yield products. Reserve attestations, issuer risk, withdrawal terms.

14 products

CROSS-PRODUCT HUB

Every product, one safety axis.

Loans, ETFs, custody, and dollar products ranked together under one 8-factor methodology — sort, filter, and compare across the categories most sites keep in silos.

Open the hub

SCENARIO MODELLER

You hold BTC and need cash.

Model the same brief across five paths — borrow, sell, hold an ETF, self-custody, or park in dollars — scored on cost, tax, risk, and control. Every number sourced.

Model your scenario

Methodology · v3.2

Eight factors. One score.

Every product — loan, ETF, custodian, or dollar — is scored on the same eight factors, weighted by category. Each figure links to its source. We take no payment for placement.

Rehypothecation Policy

Collateral cannot be re-lent, re-pledged, sold, transferred, or otherwise used by the lender or funding partners, and that restriction is explicit in borrower-facing terms.

Custody Model

Borrower collateral uses a control model where the lender cannot unilaterally move BTC outside documented liquidation or recovery procedures.

Regulatory Compliance

The product is offered through a clearly licensed or regulated structure, with visible jurisdiction rules, KYC requirements, and no buried access constraints.

Reserves & Transparency

Collateral or solvency evidence is current, independently reviewed, easy to find, and specific enough for borrowers to understand what is actually protected.

Track Record

The lender has a long operating history through multiple Bitcoin drawdowns, meaningful funded volume, and no unresolved borrower-protection red flags.

Liquidation Practices

Margin-call, cure, partial-liquidation, and final-liquidation rules are conservative, specific, borrower-visible, and not dependent on vague discretionary language.

Loss Protection

The product adds meaningful borrower downside protection beyond basic margin-call mechanics without hiding material costs or eligibility restrictions.

Transparency & Governance

Borrowers can verify terms, ownership, source evidence, governance, public profiles, and correction paths without relying on sales copy or a private quote flow.

Read the full methodology →

Common questions

How Pledge works.

What Bitcoin product categories does Pledge compare?: Pledge compares Bitcoin loans, stablecoins, Digital Credit, custody and wallets, and ETFs. The reviewed product hub tracks 76 products, including 17 lenders, 14 Bitcoin-linked money and credit projects, 22 wallets (tracked for evidence, not scored), 11 custodians, and 12 ETFs.
How does Pledge evaluate different Bitcoin product verticals?: Each category has its own comparison criteria. BTC-backed loans are evaluated on APR, custody treatment, safety scores, fees, and liquidation risk, with loan safety scores currently ranging from 3.4 to 9.0 out of 10.
Does Pledge get paid by the products it ranks?: No provider pays for position — zero paid rankings. Rankings follow the published methodology only. Pledge has no affiliate links today; any future paid link will be disclosed inline and never affect a score.
How often is the data updated?: Pledge re-verifies its data on a recurring cadence and stamps every figure with a last-verified date; some market data (ETF AUMs, DeFi rates) refreshes automatically, and sources are linked on every row so you can check the original.
What is the Pledge safety score?: A weighted 0-10 score from a published, vertical-specific methodology. For Bitcoin-backed loans it combines eight factors — custody, rehypothecation, regulation, reserves, track record, liquidation, loss protection, and transparency — with weights that sum to 100%, and every factor cites its evidence.
Is Pledge investment advice?: No. Pledge is independent research and decision-support — not investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Always confirm the live terms with the provider before acting.

How Pledge works.

What Bitcoin product categories does Pledge compare?

Pledge compares Bitcoin loans, stablecoins, Digital Credit, custody and wallets, and ETFs. The reviewed product hub tracks 76 products, including 17 lenders, 14 Bitcoin-linked money and credit projects, 22 wallets (tracked for evidence, not scored), 11 custodians, and 12 ETFs.

How does Pledge evaluate different Bitcoin product verticals?

Each category has its own comparison criteria. BTC-backed loans are evaluated on APR, custody treatment, safety scores, fees, and liquidation risk, with loan safety scores currently ranging from 3.4 to 9.0 out of 10.

Does Pledge get paid by the products it ranks?

No provider pays for position — zero paid rankings. Rankings follow the published methodology only. Pledge has no affiliate links today; any future paid link will be disclosed inline and never affect a score.

How often is the data updated?

Pledge re-verifies its data on a recurring cadence and stamps every figure with a last-verified date; some market data (ETF AUMs, DeFi rates) refreshes automatically, and sources are linked on every row so you can check the original.

What is the Pledge safety score?

A weighted 0-10 score from a published, vertical-specific methodology. For Bitcoin-backed loans it combines eight factors — custody, rehypothecation, regulation, reserves, track record, liquidation, loss protection, and transparency — with weights that sum to 100%, and every factor cites its evidence.

Is Pledge investment advice?

No. Pledge is independent research and decision-support — not investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Always confirm the live terms with the provider before acting.

Bitcoin products,compared — by onesafety methodology.

Tell us what you want to do with your bitcoin.

Eight factors. One score.

How Pledge works.

Bitcoin products,compared — by onesafety methodology.

Tell us what you want to do with your bitcoin.

Eight factors. One score.

How Pledge works.

Bitcoin products,
compared — by one
safety methodology.

Bitcoin products,
compared — by one
safety methodology.