Security is not a feature. It's the architecture.
Every decision we make starts with one question: does this protect client assets?
The Five Pillars
No Rehypothecation
Your Bitcoin is yours. We never lend it out or borrow against it. It sits with regulated third-party custodians in a dedicated, segregated wallet for the duration of your loan, and moves only on repayment or in the default process set out in your agreement. It is designed into the custody architecture itself, not just stated as policy.
No Altcoins
Our lending is built on Bitcoin, the most liquid, most battle-tested digital asset in existence. We do not accept altcoins, which introduce liquidity risk, correlation risk, and valuation complexity we refuse to take on.
No Customer Deposits
Reserve is not a bank. There is no depositor base to run: no deposits, no savings accounts, no promised yield. Lender capital is committed loan-by-loan under an agreed framework, not pooled into an opaque balance sheet.
No Corporate Leverage
Reserve does not borrow against its own balance sheet. We do not take on debt to fund operations or growth. The company operates from equity capital and operational cashflow. This eliminates the leverage risk that destroyed Celsius, BlockFi, and others.
No Yield Chasing
Conservative loan-to-value sits at the heart of the design: every loan is originated heavily overcollateralised by design. We could run looser and earn more - but that increases risk for everyone. We've chosen to be conservative because we intend to be here for decades, not just cycles.
Regulated, Segregated Custody
Bitcoin collateral is held by major, proven FCA-regulated custodians in segregated per-borrower wallets, legally separate from Reserve's operational funds and other clients' assets. Sterling drawdowns and repayments run through an FCA-authorised electronic money institution. Reserve is in discussions with additional qualified custodians to build out a multi-custodian panel.
What went wrong - and how Reserve is designed differently
Between 2022 and 2023, several major crypto lending platforms collapsed: Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager, and others. In every case, the failures shared common traits: rehypothecation of client assets, unsecured lending, corporate leverage, and commingled funds. Reserve was designed specifically to avoid each of these failure modes: segregated custody, no rehypothecation, no corporate leverage, no pooled deposits, so they cannot arise in the ordinary course of our model.
Transparency by default
Reserve is building toward regular, independently checkable reserve attestations: custodian confirmation that pledged collateral is held in full, alongside the verifiable ledger already live. Details on timing and methodology will be published on this page as we approach launch.