Retail crypto investors relied significantly more on digital asset-backed loans in 2026 as broader market conditions softened, according to market intelligence data published by CryptoQuant. The financing method allows holders to secure liquidity without liquidating their underlying digital holdings, though falling token valuations present heightened risks of automatic liquidations or collateral calls.
Retail Borrowing Activity Surges Amid Market Pressures
Retail participants drove a sharp increase in borrowing volume throughout the tracked period. According to the CryptoQuant findings, the average number of loans taken by retail users jumped 74 %, from 30.8 transactions per user in 2025 to 53.5 in 2026. High-net-worth participants experienced a comparatively modest increase of 18 %, moving from 16.5 to 19.4 loans per user.
Platform data also highlights a rise in repeat borrowing behavior. The share of users maintaining multiple active loans grew from 61.9 % to 65.1 %. Meanwhile, retail borrowers shortened their borrowing cycles, waiting an average of 21 days between new loan issuances compared to 11 days previously.
Collateral Preferences Shift Toward Alternative Tokens
While borrowing frequency accelerated, collateral choices underwent a notable shift, particularly among wealthy accounts. The proportion of Bitcoin backing loans for high-net-worth users dropped from 57.8 % to 30.5 %. Concurrently, Zcash captured 24.2 % of total collateral value among wealthier users, securing a dominant position after previously failing to rank in the top ten.
CryptoQuant attributes the rapid adoption of Zcash as collateral to its significant market appreciation, with token prices climbing from roughly $50 at the end of 2025 to approximately $800. Additional alternative assets, including Monero, Chainlink, and Cardano, also expanded their share within affluent portfolios.
Retail Portfolios and Trading Volume Adjustments
Retail investors maintained a heavy focus on XRP as collateral, though its market share contracted from 41.7 % to 35.2 % as Bitcoin remained a close alternative. Additional assets utilized by retail accounts for loan security included TRON, Stellar, BNB, Kaspa, and Velo.
Trading preferences shifted alongside collateral adjustments during the volatile market cycle. Tether and Bitcoin retained their positions as the two largest traded assets by volume, while USD Coin advanced to the third spot. Flare, Ether, and Ondo also entered the top ten trading volumes, displacing Solana, Stellar, and Shiba Inu from the category.
Related reading