Liquidity without liquidation.

Rooted in time

Bitcoin rewards those who hold through disorder. Yet life and business demand liquidity: an acquisition, a tax bill, an opportunity that will not wait. Le Chêne is preparing a lending facility, built on the vault technology of our partner BitVault, in which the loan ends on a date and not at a price.

The compromise borrowers are usually asked to make

Rooted in a different premise

Most Bitcoin-backed lending asks the borrower to hand the collateral to a custodian, or to accept an automated liquidation engine. A temporary movement in price can then force the sale of a long-term position, even when the borrower is perfectly able to repay.

Custodial exposure
The Bitcoin is transferred into infrastructure controlled by a lender, a platform or a custodian.

Oracle dependency
An external price source becomes the trigger that decides the fate of the collateral.

Forced liquidation
Short-term volatility permanently disposes of a long-term position.

Collateral should follow the agreed terms of the contract, not the market's next price tick.

What is different

No margin call, no forced sale on a price movement

Borrowing against Bitcoin has meant living beneath a liquidation threshold, where a sharp fall in price can force the sale of a long-term position at the worst possible moment. The facility we are building removes automatic price-based liquidation from the contract itself. The collateral sits in a vault that no single party controls and that does not know the Bitcoin price. It therefore cannot react to it.

This does not remove the economic risk a lender carries. That risk is priced into the rate and can be hedged separately. What it removes is the reflex: the mechanical sale into the thinnest part of the market.

Two sides, one structure

Rooted in a bilateral agreement

For Bitcoin holders
Swiss franc or euro liquidity while your long-term position stays intact.

No automatic liquidation. A drawdown is not a default. The contract prohibits a sale triggered by price alone.
Conservative loan-to-value. A substantial buffer by design, protecting both sides of the agreement.
No custodial platform. The collateral is secured on Bitcoin itself. No exchange, no custodian.
Borrowing is not selling. The timing of any future sale remains yours. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances.

For capital providers
A secured, fixed-rate claim against Bitcoin collateral you can verify yourself.

Direct and bilateral. Your capital goes to the borrower. Le Chêne never holds client money.
Verifiable collateral. The deposit can be checked on-chain at any time by both parties.
Orderly workout. Enforcement opens after maturity and a defined waiting period, not on a price tick.
Optional hedging. Residual exposure can be covered through a separate specialist partner.

How a loan will work

Six stages, from assessment to release

Assessment
Both sides are onboarded and assessed. The loan-to-value band, the term and the rate are fixed before anything moves.

Setup
The vault is established and the collateral transferred into it. Control is anchored on the timechain and verifiable by both parties.

Disbursement
The lender transfers directly to the borrower. Origination and setup fees fall due.

Term
Interest periods of six or twelve months. Le Chêne administers the contract state and reports to both sides.

Period end
A controlled rollover with no unprotected gap. The rate can reset and any hedge can be renewed.

Maturity
Repayment and release of the collateral. Or an orderly enforcement once the agreed waiting period has run.

Contracts of up to ten years, in periods of six or twelve months. The loan ends on a date, not at a price.

Who does what

Rooted in clear responsibilities

Le Chêne Family Office AG arranges the loan, advises both sides and administers the contract as servicer. Le Chêne is a Swiss financial intermediary, a member of the VQF self-regulatory organisation and the holder of a VASP authorisation. It never holds client money, is never the custodian of the collateral, and operates no price oracle.

BitVault SA provides the vault technology that makes the structure possible: several key roles rather than one, an absolute maturity date followed by a defined enforcement delay, no price feed, non-custodial, verifiable on-chain.

The loan itself remains a bilateral agreement between borrower and lender. Le Chêne never enters the credit relationship and gives no guarantee against default.

Why the architecture matters

A different relationship with the collateral

How three approaches to Bitcoin-backed lending treat the collateral.
	Custodial Bitcoin loan	Oracle-based on-chain loan	Le Chêne with BitVault
Collateral model	Platform-controlled custody	Protocol or multisig arrangement	Policy-controlled Bitcoin output
External price oracle	Usually	Required	Not used in collateral control
Automatic price liquidation	Usually	Usually	No
Omnibus custody	Often	Varies	No
Basis for enforcement	Platform discretion and contract	Oracle threshold	Agreed maturity and default path
On-chain verifiability	Limited or partial	Partial to high	Bitcoin-native collateral policy
Borrower price protection	Limited	Limited	Price alone cannot trigger enforcement

The initial framework

Built for conservative, fixed-term lending

Loan currencies
Swiss francs and euros.

Collateral
Bitcoin.

Structure
A bilateral loan, arranged and administered by Le Chêne.

Collateral control
A non-custodial on-chain policy, provided by BitVault.

Price liquidation
None.

Interest periods
Six or twelve months, in contracts of up to ten years.

Borrowers
Individuals, entrepreneurs, companies, family offices and institutions.

Availability
An initial Swiss pilot, with selected European markets to follow.

Terms
Individually assessed.

Final eligibility, loan size, pricing, collateral requirements and availability depend on the borrower, the lender, the jurisdiction and the contractual terms.

Be among the first considered.

Early access

Tell us what kind of liquidity you are looking for, or on what terms you would consider lending. We will notify you as the first lending programmes and borrower assessments become available.

Early-access registration only. This is not a loan application, an offer of credit or a commitment to lend.

I am interested as *

Email address *

Profile *

Preferred currency

Indicative loan size *

Indicative term *

Country of residence or incorporation *

I agree to be contacted about Le Chêne Bitcoin-backed lending and accept the Privacy policy.

Early-access registration only. This is not a loan application, an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. Your details are used solely to contact you about this programme and are not passed to third parties. Le Chêne Family Office AG, Freie Strasse 88, 4051 Basel.

Questions, answered plainly

The essentials, without the hype

Who is my counterparty?

Bilateral, always

The loan is bilateral, between borrower and lender. Le Chêne arranges it, advises both sides and administers the contract as servicer. Le Chêne does not lend its own money, never holds client money and gives no guarantee against default.

Is my Bitcoin transferred to the lender?

No, it stays under policy

No. The collateral is committed to a predefined Bitcoin policy rather than deposited into the lender's wallet or an omnibus custodial account. Its movement is limited to the spending paths agreed at origination.

Can a fall in the Bitcoin price liquidate my collateral?

Not by price alone

A price movement alone does not activate a liquidation transaction. The collateral policy uses no price oracle. Enforcement rights depend instead on the agreed maturity, the repayment conditions and the applicable delay.

Is the Bitcoin price ignored entirely?

It matters at underwriting

No. Price and collateralisation are considered when the loan is underwritten and the terms are set. The distinction is that no external price feed controls the collateral during the term.

What happens if the loan is not repaid?

An orderly, dated path

If repayment does not occur as agreed, a predefined enforcement path may become available to the lender after maturity and the applicable on-chain delay. Enforcement is orderly and dated rather than reflexive.

Is Le Chêne regulated?

VQF member, VASP holder

Le Chêne Family Office AG is a Swiss financial intermediary, a member of the VQF self-regulatory organisation and the holder of a VASP authorisation, and its client adviser is entered in the register of advisers under the Financial Services Act. This is a lending arrangement service. Le Chêne is not a bank and takes no deposits.

Can I take part as a lender rather than a borrower?

Yes, and you are assessed

Yes. Capital providers can register the same way and will be assessed for suitability. Lending on these terms is not appropriate for every profile, and the assessment is part of the process rather than a formality.

Is the facility available yet?

Early access and pilot

It is entering an early-access and pilot phase. Registering allows us to understand demand on both sides and to contact suitable participants as the first lending programmes become available.

Where will it be available?

Switzerland first

Switzerland first, followed by selected European markets, subject to regulatory, lender and operational availability.

Your Bitcoin strategy should not be decided by short-term volatility.

Rooted in long-term ownership

Register your interest in a lending model built around long-term ownership, transparent terms and collateral governed by the contract rather than by the market.

If you would prefer a confidential conversation before leaving your details, write to lechene@rootedinbitcoin.com · +41 78 221 07 38

This lending facility is under development. The information on this page is for product discovery only and does not constitute an offer, a commitment to lend, financial advice or a recommendation. Availability and final terms depend on contractual, underwriting, regulatory and jurisdictional requirements.