Bitcoin’s slide below US$85,000 has revived concerns about whether the weeks-long crypto selloff could deepen further. While volatility remains elevated and liquidity conditions are tight, some industry players say the pullback reflects typical patterns in an asset known for sharp boom-and-bust cycles.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Alexander Blume, founder and CEO of Two Prime, who said institutional demand for Bitcoin-backed loans remains strong and that major companies are preparing to bring new crypto products to market. He also noted rising adoption among public companies integrating Bitcoin into their balance-sheet strategies.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin’s pullback aligns with historical patterns, with more than 20 major drawdowns seen over past cycles.
- Liquidity tightened by macro shifts, including unexpected signals from the Bank of Japan, has added pressure to crypto prices.
- Demand for Bitcoin-backed loans remains strong, with hundreds of millions in new lending activity seen even during the downturn.
- Major financial firms, including Charles Schwab and JP Morgan, are preparing new retail and structured products tied to Bitcoin.
- Public companies are increasingly integrating Bitcoin into balance-sheet strategies, fuelling deeper institutionalization of the asset class.
Read the full transcript below:
ANDREW: Bitcoin slipped at one point today below US$85,000. It looked like the selloff that afflicted cryptocurrencies last week seemed to have eased, but it’s back on. We’re joined by Alexander Blume, founder and CEO of Two Prime. Alexander, thanks very much for coming on the show. What do you think has been causing this weakness in cryptos?
ALEXANDER: Andy, great to be back with you. I would say a couple of things. First of all, this is just the life of a Bitcoiner. I think if you zoom out a little bit, over the last years of Bitcoin, there have been 21 pullbacks of 30 per cent or greater. And counting, in my career, I think I’ve seen 14 of those pullbacks. So in one sense, it’s just normal behaviour for an asset that has natural supply-and-demand dynamics.
At the same time, there are crypto-specific things. There were big liquidations in October that I think the market is still recovering from. And on top of that, we saw the Bank of Japan — it looks like they’re going to increase interest rates — which was a bit unexpected, and liquidity conditions broadly have been tight.
But I can tell you our firm does Bitcoin-backed loans, and we’re doing several hundred million dollars of loans just this week. We’re working with clients that are large operating businesses with hundreds of millions of dollars of Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and I don’t see any of them pulling back or looking to sell. In fact, they’re looking for ways to generate more return on that Bitcoin, and they see this pullback as a time to either acquire more or be more aggressive in finding ways to monetize the asset.
I think we’ve seen an institutionalization of the asset class over the last few years, especially since the ETF was introduced. As a result, you have more countercyclical behaviour where, yes, a 30 per cent drawdown is not unusual, but there are companies looking to buy around these prices.
ANDREW: So, just remind us — you do Bitcoin loans. How does that work? You lend money to people who own Bitcoin, and the security is the cryptocurrency?
ALEXANDER: Correct. We are one of the largest Bitcoin-backed lenders in the world. We’ve done about US$3 billion of loan volume over the last two and a half years. The business started seven years ago, but the lending side began about two and a half years ago. People send in over-collateralized excess Bitcoin, and we’ll lend a portion of it as dollars to the client, and that Bitcoin secures the loan.
I think market-wide last cycle, it got up to about US$60 billion of total loans, and I think we’re somewhere in that range currently as well. However, Bitcoin is twice the price today compared with when those peaks were reached last cycle.
ANDREW: And how do you raise the money to lend? How do you finance yourselves?
ALEXANDER: We work with a network of capital partners, including banks, family offices and private businesses that are looking for a return in excess of treasuries, and it’s actually a very low-risk kind of loan because of how over-collateralized they are. We lend to some of the largest Bitcoin miners in the world, to funds, family offices, prime brokers and other groups in the space that have large amounts of Bitcoin. We manage that collateral and earn an interest rate.
ANDREW: Tell us — for people who don’t spend all day in Bitcoin or crypto the way you do — what’s happening in the market that we haven’t heard about? What’s a big under-the-surface trend right now?
ALEXANDER: I think the biggest thing is this: in the background, we’re speaking with new clients that are regular businesses, public companies that are onboarding Bitcoin and looking for ways to use their balance sheets more intelligently. Some groups have just bought Bitcoin, but there are real operating businesses looking for ways to put it to work — either through loans or by hiring us to generate a return on that Bitcoin in a low-risk way.
I think you’d be amazed at the names of the companies and the number of companies coming online over the next couple of months. In Q1 and Q2 of next year, we’re onboarding several 11-figure businesses that have Bitcoin on their balance sheets. Beyond that, I think there’s a wave of adoption: Charles Schwab, for example, is bringing Bitcoin to retail investors in the early part of next year. JP Morgan just launched a structured note. There’s a huge swath of new products coming that I think will continue inflows into Bitcoin.
ANDREW: That’s interesting. Charles Schwab — right now, they’re not offering clients Bitcoin?
ALEXANDER: Not retail clients. They cannot buy or sell Bitcoin in their accounts, but Schwab says they will introduce this in the early part of next year, which represents trillions of new assets that could access Bitcoin.
ANDREW: For sure. But the ETFs — well, they’ve been out now for more than a year — but they transformed the crypto space, as far as I can see. They made it much easier for people to put a toe in the water without opening an actual crypto account.
ALEXANDER: That’s right. BlackRock creating a Bitcoin-related product gives cover to every asset manager to offer this without it being an embarrassing or shunned kind of asset. It brought Bitcoin into the mainstream. And the ease of access to an ETF — simpler custody and use of regular financial rails — has allowed a lot of new participants to enter.
I expect that to continue. I saw last week that the Bitcoin ETF has become BlackRock’s most profitable ETF product in its entire business. So I’m sure they’re motivated to keep it growing.
ANDREW: Right. Thank you, Alexander — always great hearing from you.
ALEXANDER: Good to speak with you again.
ANDREW: Alexander Blume, founder and CEO at Two Prime, the big Bitcoin-based lender.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Dec. 1, 2025 interview with Alexander Blume are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.