By Riley Kaminer
Today, Miami fintech Milo announced the launch of its crypto loan product. That will enable digital asset holders (or should we say, HODL-ers) to use their crypto as collateral to access loans ranging in value from $10k to $200k and even more, in select cases.
“The crypto loan is a continuation of us creating products for people with crypto wealth,” Milo CEO Josip Rupena told Refresh Miami.
These loans are open to people who own Bitcoin, ETH, and USDC. After completing a short loan application, the customer sends their collateral to a custodian who will hold the assets in cold storage. The funds will be disbursed within hours of compliance being approved. Initially, this product will just launch in Florida and California. But Milo signaled plans to eventually offer this in other states as well.
This new product comes on the heels of Milo’s other crypto offering for real estate, which launched last year. Rupena reported that the company has already originated over $10 million in crypto mortgages and that not a single customer has faced a margin call. Overall, Milo has originated over $130 million in mortgages since 2020. And Milo is also attracting the crypto whales, according to Rupena. “We’ve had people with over $1 billion in aggregate crypto net worth apply with us.”
Rupena explained that these crypto products are great for people who are not ready to liquidate their crypto but want to hold it in the long term. He shared an example of a customer who took out a loan in December. Since then, their Bitcoin holdings have appreciated over 20 percent. By comparison, Rupena said that Milo’s interest rates typically run between the high single digits to low double digits.
“If Milo didn’t exist, he would have been forced to sell, pay taxes, and lose the upside,” asserted Rupena. “Needless to say, we were very happy that we were able to help them.”
Milo is potentially vulnerable to two of the biggest macroeconomic trends shaping consumer finance last year: rising interest rates and a crypto bear market. But Rupena expressed optimism, broadly speaking, sharing his belief that things will shake out sooner rather than later.
“I think today, given where the world is and where the Fed has indicated rates are going, it seems like we’re probably towards the end of that rate hike cycle. And that has helped to create a lot more clarity for people. At Milo, we’ve seen that there are more people now that are actually coming in, inquiring, looking, shopping for homes.”
In March 2022, Milo raised $17 million in Series A funding in a round led by M13. Rupena said that the company has no immediate plans to raise another round but continues to have conversations with interested investors.
“We’re well positioned as the leader in this crypto mortgage asset class,” Rupena said. “And to the extent that there are potential investors who could be strategic and helpful, we will always entertain those conversations.”
The Wynwood-based company currently has 42 full-time employees, 30 of whom are located in South Florida.
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