APX And Netcoins Launch Embedded Crypto Lending

July 21, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Digital Assets, Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Embedded Finance

Regulatory Relief Becomes Embedded Lending Infrastructure

On July 21, 2026, APX Lending launched its Canadian Lending as a Service platform with Netcoins. Eligible users can access crypto backed loans inside the Netcoins app while APX provides the capital, underwriting, compliance, collateral management, technology and servicing behind the product.

Netcoins is the first Canadian platform to go live on the infrastructure. The rollout builds on an existing relationship rather than starting from zero. BIGG Digital Assets invested in APX and announced the Netcoins partnership in May 2025, and Netcoins later added an in app lending page and calculator while the companies worked toward full integration.

The new launch turns APX’s securities law relief into infrastructure another Canadian platform can distribute. APX can now place its lending system behind a partner’s customer relationship rather than relying only on borrowers who arrive through its own channel.

Netcoins Keeps The Customer While APX Runs The Loan

Netcoins brings the app, customer relationship and regulated crypto trading channel. Netcoins became one of Canada’s early restricted dealer crypto platforms in 2021. It is owned by publicly traded BIGG Digital Assets, which combines Netcoins with blockchain analytics and compliance technology under a compliance first operating model.

APX runs the lending operation behind the interface. It supplies capital, reviews each application, performs the required account appropriateness assessment, manages collateral, handles servicing and monitors loan to value levels around the clock. APX or a wholly owned special purpose vehicle remains the lender under the loan agreement.

The partnership lets Netcoins add credit without creating its own lending balance sheet, underwriting team or collateral controls. APX gains distribution through an established Canadian platform, while Netcoins can add a new revenue line and give customers another reason to keep assets inside its ecosystem.

The model resembles other forms of embedded lending infrastructure, but the collateral is digital. The customer sees a loan inside a familiar platform even though a specialist provider operates the credit system behind it.

Collateral Rules Matter More Than A Fast Application

Netcoins’ lending page currently shows loans starting at C$10,000 or USDC 10,000, using Bitcoin or Ether as collateral. Terms can run for up to 60 months, and the displayed interest rate starts at 12.99%. Final terms and eligibility are determined during APX’s application process.

Borrowers can access Canadian dollars or USDC without a conventional credit check, but the loan is secured by crypto. If the collateral value falls, the loan to value ratio rises. APX can require more collateral or partial repayment and may liquidate assets when the applicable threshold is reached.

The April 2025 OSC decision permits APX to accept Bitcoin and Ether unless the principal regulator approves another asset. It also requires client disclosures, account appropriateness reviews and third party custody controls. The relief is time limited, expires three years after the decision and should not be treated as a general precedent for other lenders.

APX says collateral is held in segregated BitGo Trust cold storage, remains visible on chain and is not pooled, re-lent or rehypothecated. Customers should still understand that crypto collateral is not protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and can be sold if the loan breaches its terms.

Competition Now Includes The Lending Layer

Netcoins adds crypto backed credit to trading, custody, staking and card products without building a lending operation internally.

APX Lending supplies regulated credit infrastructure, capital, collateral controls and servicing behind partner branded experiences.

Ledn operates a specialist Bitcoin backed lending business and has connected crypto loans with institutional funding markets.

Canadian crypto platforms that focus mainly on trading and custody may now need to decide whether lending belongs in their product mix.

Banks and fintechs could eventually use similar infrastructure if they want to offer digital asset secured credit without holding or operating the full crypto lending stack.

A Shared Interface Doesn't Remove Shared Responsibility

The commercial appeal is clear, but do users understand who is doing what?

Netcoins controls the experience, but APX approves and services the loan. Customers need clear information about the lender, collateral transfer, interest costs, margin notices, liquidation rules, data sharing and complaint handling before they apply.

Andrei Poliakov has followed this compliance first approach before. In a 2019 NCFA interview with Coinberry, he described the goal of building a trusted Canadian crypto business with supportive banking and long term operating discipline.

Coinberry was later acquired by WonderFi for C$38.5 million as regulatory costs encouraged consolidation. APX applies that experience to shared infrastructure that several platforms may be able to use rather than each one building a separate lending operation.

If the model performs well, APX could become a common lending layer behind several crypto platforms. If servicing, disclosures or liquidations create friction, the platform presenting the loan will share the reputational cost.

Talking Point

Will APX become the lending layer behind several Canadian crypto platforms, or will larger exchanges eventually build or acquire their own credit infrastructure?

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