Systemic danger on the rise as leverage interdependencies tighten between CeFi, DeFi and crypto treasuries
Interconnections between centralized and decentralized crypto lending are heightening systemic danger, Galaxy Digital’s analysis arm stated in a June 4 report on first-quarter borrowing information.
The report estimated that as of March 31, over $39 billion in crypto-collateralized debt was excellent throughout decentralized lending apps, centralized lenders, and crypto-backed stablecoin issuers.
DeFi protocols accounted for 45.3% of the full, centralized venues accounted for 34.6%, and collateralized stablecoins accounted for 20.1%.
In accordance with the report, many centralized desks elevate short-term liquidity on DeFi rails, then lend the funds off-chain.
This duplication causes the identical debt obligation to look in each on-chain information and personal ledgers, artificially inflating headline borrowing figures and complicating real-time danger assessments throughout market stress.
Cross-venue liquidations
Sharp value declines usually set off automated liquidations on DeFi platforms first, as good contracts implement margin guidelines at once.
Centralized desks that borrowed from DeFi might then reply by recalling loans or liquidating consumer collateral on exchanges, additional pressuring costs.
These pressured gross sales feed again into the market, deepen volatility, and set off extra on-chain liquidations, particularly for belongings like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Staked ETH (stETH) which can be extensively used throughout venues.
Pendle tokens exhibited this reflexivity throughout the second quarter. After Aave enabled excessive loan-to-value collateral, customers deposited practically $1.4 billion and borrowed stablecoins, driving complete DeFi provide above $54 billion by Might 26.
If costs fall, mass liquidations might cascade again to centralized desks with mirrored exposures.
Debt-funded treasuries
In the meantime, company treasuries have added one other credit score layer to the system.
The report recognized at the least $12.7 billion of convertible and zero-coupon notes issued by listed corporations to finance crypto holdings. The record of companies contains Technique, Riot Platforms, and Twenty One Capital.
Technique alone owes $8.2 billion and pays $17.5 million in quarterly curiosity. Most notes mature between mid-2027 and late-2028, making a refinancing hump that coincides with debt carried by friends pursuing related treasury insurance policies.
To handle short-term obligations, many companies depend on OTC stablecoin loans, sometimes priced 2% to 4% above prevailing DeFi charges. The slender unfold signifies that centralized desks are actively benchmarking in opposition to DeFi, linking non-public credit score prices to on-chain circumstances.
When DeFi charges shift, OTC borrowing prices shortly regulate, tightening margin necessities for treasury debtors and different members.
Galaxy concluded that whereas the diversification of credit score channels has elevated borrowing capability, it has additionally strengthened the transmission of shocks throughout the system.
Within the absence of standardized disclosures or on-chain attribution for entity-level exposures, each regulators and market members stay at nighttime concerning the full scope of danger embedded in crypto credit score markets.
