Lava
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
Lava firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lava
- Legal name
- Lava Global Inc.
- Website
- https://lava.xyz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lava industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bitcoin-Backed Lending
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crypto-Backed Consumer Loans (Secured) (FSADAFAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Decentralized Lending Protocols (DeFi Money Markets) (FSADAFAB), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), On-Chain Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure (Issuance, Rails, Treasury) (FSAGAMAD), Stablecoins & On-Chain Money (fiat-backed, crypto-backed, algorithmic; issuance/redemption) (FSAPAEAB)
Keywords
Where Lava is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Lava business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Line of Credit Interest (BLOC): Fixed interest charged on outstanding balances on the Bitcoin Line of Credit: 7.5% for balances below $100,000 and 6.5% for balances of $100,000 or above. Interest compounds daily.
- Line of Credit Capital Charge: Annual 2% capital charge on the largest outstanding balance during the year, applied to the line of credit (or upon closure). Functions as a recurring usage-linked fee on the BLOC.
- Credit Card Fees & Penalties: 2% late payment fee on current outstanding balance, 2% ATM usage fee (subject to $1 minimum), and $29 maximum returned payment fee on the Lava Card. APR is 0% on purchases.
- Net Interest on USD Yield Account: Yield Account pays 6.5% APY to USD lenders; Lava retains a spread between the lender yield and the rate charged to BTC-collateralized borrowers.
- Lava Prime Institutional Loan Spread: Interest and fees on bespoke, large-scale BTC-backed loans to institutions, funds, family offices, and HNWIs, including direct OTC desk access.
- Bitcoin Rewards / Card Network Interchange: Lava Card offers up to 5% back in BTC rewards; rewards and FX/spread economics on card spend are part of the program economics with the issuer (Third National) and Visa.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Annual | BLOC: < $100k balance = 7.5% fixed APR; ≥ $100k balance = 6.5% fixed APR + 2% capital charge |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | USD Yield Account: 6.5% APY, daily payout, monthly compounding, instant withdrawals |
| Other | Monthly | Lava Card: 0% APR, no annual fee, 0% FX, up to 5% back in BTC on purchases |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Lava Prime: bespoke terms for loans > $25M (institutions, funds, family offices, HNWIs) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Buy BTC: 0% platform fee |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Lava product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lava operates a self-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending platform built on a decentralized protocol with on-chain smart contracts and proof-of-reserves. Its flagship product is the Bitcoin Line of Credit (BLOC), which lets users borrow U.S. dollars (or stablecoins) against their Bitcoin without selling, with no credit checks, no monthly payments, and sub-second processing. The platform also offers a USD Yield Account, a Bitcoin-rewards Visa card (Lava Card), and an institutional credit service (Lava Prime) for loans above $25M.
Product overview
No source material with resolvable identifiers was supplied in the input, so no products or services can be extracted without violating source attribution rules.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lava Card: A Visa card product earning up to 5% back in bitcoin on every purchase, accepted by merchants in more than 150 countries.
- Lava Prime
- Lava for Business
Products and services
- Bitcoin Line of Credit (BLOC) Self-custodial line of credit that lets users borrow U.S. dollars or stablecoins against their Bitcoin without selling, with no credit checks, no monthly payments, no fixed maturity, and sub-second processing (averaging ~400ms). Fixed rates: 7.5% for balances below $100,000 and 6.5% for balances of $100,000 or above, with a 2% annual capital charge on the largest outstanding balance. Built on a decentralized protocol with on-chain smart contracts, proof-of-reserves, and zero rehypothecation.
- Lava Card (Bitcoin Rewards Visa Card) Visa credit card that lets users spend from their Lava loan balance and earn up to 5% back in Bitcoin on every purchase. Features 0% APR on purchases, no annual fee, no FX fees, and zero spread. Issued by Third National under license from Visa and accepted by 150M+ merchants in 150+ countries. Includes US and International card terms.
- USD Yield Account Allows USD and stablecoin holders to fund fully collateralized Bitcoin-backed loans and earn 6.5% APY, with daily payout, monthly compounding, instant withdrawals, and no lockup. Lava retains a spread between the lender yield and the rate charged to BTC-collateralized borrowers.
- Lava Prime (Institutional Credit) Bespoke, high-touch Bitcoin-collateralized credit service for institutions, funds, family offices, and HNWIs borrowing above $25M. Includes custom loan documents, bespoke rates and payment schedules, tri-party qualified custody with segregated collateral addresses, dedicated account support, and direct OTC desk access for large BTC purchases and sales.
- Lava Refinance Concierge-led product that migrates existing BTC-backed loans or other consumer debt (credit card balances, auto loans) into a Lava BLOC, with a dedicated Client Services team working one-on-one with borrowers. Designed to consolidate higher-cost, variable-rate debt into Lava's fixed-rate, open-term line of credit.
- Buy & Sell BTC (Zero-Fee Trading) Allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin directly within the Lava app with zero platform fees (vs. 1-5% on alternative platforms), enabling them to use USD loan proceeds to acquire BTC or to liquidate collateral.
- Lava for Business Business-oriented Bitcoin-backed lending service for commercial use, governed by Lava's Terms of Service that specify the interface is intended for business/commercial use.
Quantifiable outcome
- Sub-5-second onboarding and ~400ms average loan processing
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Lava
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Lava technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Lava partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- RoamcoreLava announced a partnership with Roam (Aug 13, 2025) to make homeownership more affordable for Bitcoiners by combining Lava's BTC-backed loans with Roam's real estate offerings, per Lava's blog post 'Making Homeownership More Affordable For Bitcoiners'.
- RaincoreRain is referenced as a Card program partner (Rain Prohibitions List at legal.raincards.xyz is incorporated by reference; Rain is also a service provider for the Lava Card). Rain is identified as the program partner for card issuance and ongoing operations.
- BridgecoreBridge is listed in Lava's Terms of Service as a third-party service provider used to operate the Lava interface, with US, EEA, and Rest-of-World legal terms (Bridge Building Inc., Bridge Building SP Z O O, and Bridge Building Limited).
- Shehzan Maredia (CEO)flagshipShehzan Maredia is Lava's CEO and the principal public voice of the company, authoring most blog and Learn posts. Listed in the 'Authoritative Team' section of the homepage.
- Myles Snider (Head of Growth)coreMyles Snider is Lava's Head of Growth, listed in the 'Authoritative Team' section of the homepage.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lava competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- River Financial: Bitcoin-only financial services platform with self-custody, brokerage, and retirement products targeting Bitcoiners. Closely aligned on the Bitcoiner-first brand and audience, and a natural adjacent for BTC-collateralized credit as River expands its product suite.
- Strike: Bitcoin-native payments and financial services company offering the Strike Card and Lightning-based rails. Comparable as a Bitcoin-first financial services platform targeting long-term BTC holders, though Strike is stronger on payments and lighter on credit products.
- Ledn: Bitcoin-focused lending and savings platform offering BTC-collateralized loans and yield products, with a strong retail and HNW Bitcoiner customer base. Most direct head-to-head peer on the BLOC use case, though Ledn historically uses custodial models versus Lava's self-custody.
- Nexo: Large centralized crypto lender offering crypto-backed loans, yield accounts, and a crypto card across multiple jurisdictions. Comparable on the full-stack borrow / yield / card model, though Nexo is a centralized custodian with broader asset coverage beyond Bitcoin.
- MakerDAO: Decentralized protocol that issues the Dai stablecoin against crypto collateral baskets including BTC, and has launched BTC-collateralized vaults. Comparable on the BTC-backed, stablecoin-denominated credit product, though MakerDAO is fully on-chain and decentralized versus Lava's hybrid model.
- Swan Bitcoin: Bitcoin-focused wealth platform combining self-custody, DCA, IRAs, and increasingly lending products for Bitcoiners. Directly comparable on the Bitcoiner customer persona and self-custody-first positioning, and a likely competitor as Swan expands into BTC-backed credit.
- Unchained Capital: Bitcoin-native financial services firm offering collaborative custody, BTC-backed loans, and IRAs for individuals and institutions. Closely comparable on the BTC-collateralized loan product with a strong focus on qualified custody and the Bitcoin holder customer segment.
Broad incumbents
- Coinbase: Largest US-listed crypto exchange, which operates Coinbase Borrow for Bitcoin-collateralized loans alongside a much broader trading, custody, and card business. Directly comparable on the BTC-backed lending product, though Lava differentiates on self-custody and on-chain proof of reserves.
- Compound: Pioneer DeFi money market protocol for permissionless crypto lending and borrowing across multiple assets. Comparable on the on-chain lending infrastructure that underpins much of DeFi credit, and a benchmark for capital efficiency that any DeFi-style BTC lender must beat.
Emerging players
- Aave: Leading decentralized liquidity protocol for crypto lending and borrowing with multi-chain BTC-collateralized markets (e.g., via WBTC and tBTC). Most relevant DeFi analogue on the on-chain lending layer, competing with Lava Protocol on permissionless credit rails.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lava social profiles
Digital presenceLava financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lava leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Lava funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lava M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lava
What does Lava do?
Lava operates a self-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending platform built on a decentralized protocol with on-chain smart contracts and proof-of-reserves. Its flagship product is the Bitcoin Line of Credit (BLOC), which lets users borrow U.S. dollars (or stablecoins) against their Bitcoin without selling, with no credit checks, no monthly payments, and sub-second processing. The platform also offers a USD Yield Account, a Bitcoin-rewards Visa card (Lava Card), and an institutional credit service (Lava Prime) for loans above $25M.
Is Lava a public or private company?
Lava is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lava founded?
Lava was founded in 2024. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lava based?
Lava is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lava make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Line of Credit Interest (BLOC) is the primary driver. The others are line of Credit Capital Charge, credit Card Fees & Penalties, net Interest on USD Yield Account, lava Prime Institutional Loan Spread and bitcoin Rewards / Card Network Interchange.
Who are Lava's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are River Financial, Strike, Ledn, Nexo, MakerDAO, Swan Bitcoin and Unchained Capital. Broad incumbents are Coinbase and Compound. Aave is listed as an emerging player.
Does Lava have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lava.
What industry is Lava in?
Lava's product category is Bitcoin-Backed Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAFAG, Crypto-Backed Consumer Loans (Secured), with a secondary code of FSADAFAB, Decentralized Lending Protocols (DeFi Money Markets). Its NAICS code is 525 and its SIC code is 6200.