Imagine an investor owning a house in Switzerland and a beach property in Miami, valued at around $10 million. However, what they truly seek is a line of credit for a winter getaway in St. Moritz, attending the Cannes film festival, and making some enhancements to their yacht.
In conventional finance, they could approach their bank to leverage these assets for a flexible, short-term loan. Yet, if a significant portion of their wealth lies in cryptocurrency, securing such a loan can be challenging.
A notable number of ultra-wealthy individuals have amassed fortunes through cryptocurrency. In 2025, a survey by Henley & Partners revealed that the global count of crypto millionaires soared to 241,700, marking a 40% increase from the previous year.
How do these wealthy crypto investors fund their luxurious lifestyles? Traditional banks may be hesitant to deal with crypto assets, creating a dilemma if selling these assets isn’t an option. Where can they turn for help?
This is where advanced decentralized finance (DeFi) lending strategies come in, according to Jerome de Tychey, founder of Cometh—one of the few companies in France to receive a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license. For those well-versed in crypto, they can easily deposit their ether tokens on a lending platform like Aave and withdraw stablecoins. However, for individuals unfamiliar with the DeFi landscape, the process can be quite perplexing.
Traditional vs. Crypto Loans
Affluent clients often use collateral loans, termed Lombard loans or Lombard credit, to secure financing against their assets. These loans are flexible and short-term, allowing borrowers to access cash swiftly without liquidating their investments and thus avoiding capital gains taxes.
Benefits and Challenges of DeFi
Borrowing against crypto assets has advantages, such as expedited loan processing—some platforms can approve a bitcoin-backed loan in as little as 30 seconds. In contrast, traditional Lombard loans may take days to process. Additionally, while traditional loans require credit checks and financial disclosures, DeFi loans offer permissionless access, safeguarding user anonymity.
However, there are downsides. Crypto loans carry counterparty risks and price volatility; a sudden drop in the digital asset’s value could trigger automatic liquidation of a borrower’s collateral. Nonetheless, the appeal lies in securing a loan quickly using crypto assets, especially since traditional banks may not view crypto favorably as collateral.
Innovations in DeFi
With their MiCA license, Cometh is exploring how to apply DeFi strategies to stocks, bonds, and derivatives using International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN). For instance, to access credit against Tesla shares, ISIN-based codes must be maintained in a specific fund.
“We are investigating methods to incorporate these strategies through dedicated private debt products that can be accessed by anyone holding a title account,” de Tychey noted. This is a unique form of ‘tradfi-cation’ of DeFi, blending traditional and decentralized finance approaches.
