Shehzan Maredia, founder and CEO of Lava, builds bitcoin-backed loans to let holders access cash without selling. The conversation covers why people borrow against BTC for major purchases, liquidation protections and conservative LTVs, stablecoins and global dollar access, product challenges scaling a bitcoin-native lender, and which crypto technologies matter for real financial services.
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insights INSIGHT
Borrowing Lets Holders Access Cash Without Selling
Many Bitcoin holders borrow against BTC to access liquidity without selling because they expect higher future prices.
Shehzan says 90%+ of Lava users borrow to materially improve life rather than to speculate on leverage.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Prevent Liquidation With Conservative LTV And Protection
Manage liquidation risk by keeping conservative LTVs, using automated alerts, and enabling Lava's liquidation protection feature.
Lava contacts customers directly and can automatically add unpledged BTC to collateral during steep drops to prevent liquidations.
insights INSIGHT
Price Drops Can Increase Loan Demand Not Defaults
Users often respond to price drops by borrowing more rather than selling because they remain bullish on Bitcoin.
Lava saw net new loan volume during a steep drop and liquidated less than 1% of its loan book.
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Shehzan Maredia is the Founder & CEO of Lava, a bitcoin-backed lending platform that allows users to borrow against their bitcoin without selling it. This conversation was recorded live at Bitcoin Investor Week in New York. n this discussion, we cover why many bitcoin holders are borrowing against their BTC instead of selling it, how everyday workers have quietly built wealth by consistently saving in bitcoin, and why bitcoin-backed loans are increasingly being used to fund major purchases like homes. We also discuss stablecoins, global access to dollars, and the future of bitcoin-native financial services.
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0:00 - Intro
0:14 - Why people borrow against bitcoin instead of selling
3:55 - The risks of borrowing against bitcoin
6:10 - How Lava is different from their competitors
The Pomp Podcast 