As crypto adoption continues to grow, one of the biggest challenges facing Canadian investors is access to compliant lending solutions. While borrowing against digital assets has become increasingly popular worldwide, Canadian borrowers have historically been limited to offshore platforms operating outside domestic regulatory frameworks.
At Blockchain North 2025, APX Lending Founder and CEO Andrei Poliakov sat down with Fraser Matthews, President and CEO of Netcoins, to discuss APX Lending's journey to becoming Canada's first CSA-approved crypto-backed lender, the importance of working with regulators, and how compliant lending products can help drive the next phase of crypto adoption.
The conversation explores regulatory innovation, institutional partnerships, the future of crypto credit, and why Andrei believes safe, secure, and simple financial products are essential for bringing digital assets into the mainstream.
[00:00:00] Fraser: Hi, everyone. Fraser Matthews here, president and CEO of Netcoins, a BIGG digital assets company, and proud to bring to you today a great interview with Andrei Poliakov, the founder and CEO of APX Lending s- as part of our ongoing CEO interview series in partnership with Blockchain North.
So Andrei, great to see you today. Thanks for coming along for the show today.
[00:00:24] Andrei: Hi, Fraser, and thanks for having me on the show.
[00:00:27] Fraser: So Andrei, I'm gonna dive right into it. What's the biggest problem that APX Lending is solving for crypto investors and institutions here in Canada?
[00:00:36] Andrei: The problem that currently exists in the market is that there are no compliant, safe, and secure crypto-backed lending platforms in Canada.
That is, until APX Lending came to market early in 2025.
[00:00:45] Fraser: Tell us about the approach you've taken and, tell us about where you are on that journey.
[00:00:51] Andrei: So we have a, we had a vision. We had a, vision to build out a global leading compliant and licensed and approved crypto-backed lending platform, learning from the failures of some of the industry players of the past.
And so when we launched APX in early 2023, we approached the security commissions here in Canada very early on in the process, in line with that vision to build out the first compliant and, and securities commissions approved crypto-backed lending platform in the country.
[00:01:21] Fraser: Which is no small task.
How did you go about engaging with the regulators and how did you make it all work?
[00:01:29] Andrei: So I used to run a one of the leading crypto trading platforms in Canada called Coinberry, and Coinberry became the first crypto startup to actually get licensed by the OSC and the CSA back in early 2020.
And having exited that business and having launched APX the same sort of philosophy and the same approach was used in, in terms of our regulatory journey. So we approached the Ontario Securities Commission very early on, right at the very start, and we said, "Hey, look, we know that this current business model, this current service, doesn't exist in Canada at the moment.
Canadians don't have a compliant, and, safe platform to borrow from using their crypto as collateral. They're forced to go and use offshore companies that operate outside of Canadian jurisdiction. We wanna build a business that's based in Canada that follows the, rules and the laws of of the Canadian securities regulators, and so we wanna work with you."
And so the OSC was very receptive. They sat down at the table with us and together we built out sort of the framework of how a compliant, safe, and secure crypto-backed lending business could operate in Canada with full regard to borrower safety, borrower interest, and borrower security.
[00:02:51] Fraser: Tell us about some of your ecosystem partners that help power the loan book.
[00:02:56] Andrei: Sure. In April of this year, having received our approval from the CSA, we signed a an agreement with Cypress Hill Partners which is providing us the loan liquidity, the credit facility, in fact that we're utilizing for our loan book in Canada. Now, that's a an accordion $20 million facility that we're deploying from.
Very excited to be working with forward-thinking partners like that and there's a few others in Canada as well Netcoins being one of those. And the partnership that we have with Netcoins is something that we'll, go into in a little bit more detail, but it's something very exciting for Netcoins users in Canada, and, for APX as Well
[00:03:41] Fraser: That's great. Excited to chat about that as well. I'm gonna take you through a few quick hit questions here. Sure. Starting with, what is the most overlooked opportunity in crypto lending today?
[00:03:52] Andrei: I think it's the fact that you can actually marry the speed of DeFi with the compliance of a regulated platform.
You don't have to pick between the two, and we've really proven that to be our borrowers can onboard with APX Lending in a fully compliant manner, go through the entire loan application process from A to Z in literally under 10 minutes, and have their funds deployed to them as soon as the collateral lands.
So that speed is at DeFi-level speed. However, unlike DeFi, we also offer an amazing customer support experience and somebody to call if you have any questions hand-holding if required. And again, all wrapped within a fully compliant, safe and secure, and regulated platform.
Working with qualified custodians where the collateral is custodied in cold storage, fully insured, not re-hypothecated, not re-pledged visible to our borrower for the duration of the loan. The, safety that we bring to market is, second to none. It's a leading... It's a whole different ballgame versus what's available in the market vis-a-vis our competitors.
And like I said, at DeFi speed. So we don't we don't hold back when it comes to providing an absolutely top-tier experience for our borrowers.
[00:05:12] Fraser: Andrei, you are definitely a standout here in Canada as probably one of the only people that has built two regulated crypto businesses here and gone through the process of restricted dealer and exempted dealers.
Tell us what you've learned from building a regulated crypto business.
[00:05:31] Andrei: So one lesson is that it's not an easy feat. However, it is a challenge that can most definitely be overcome if you address it with an open mind and an ability to really see different- angles of the different stakeholders involved.
So there's a few, right? And you have the regulators. They have the mandate to protect investors in Canada. You have us. Our mandate is to build a profitable business. You have our clients as stakeholders, and our borrowers, and they want to borrow using their collateral and make sure that their collateral remains safe and secure.
And so when you marry all of those, it's the ability to really look at the problem from different angles and work with our regulators to really represent not us, not just our borrowers, but also the industry as well, and to educate. Education is a very big part of the regulatory process because we are creating something completely brand new.
The frameworks that we've built in my previous business and the frameworks we build with APX working with the regulators are brand new. They didn't exist before. And so the regulators are learning as we go along this whole process. We're all, to a certain extent, learning, but it's being able to really sit down and, educate and work together with regulators to really solve their concerns in a manner which still makes the business viable and profitable and in a manner that brings services and products to clients that they actually want and need.
[00:07:06] Fraser: Andrei, we've had the pleasure of working together, which has been great. I've really enjoyed working with you in partnership, and maybe you wanna talk a bit about the role that we've played as Netcoins and as Big Digital Assets in helping to advance your organization and your roadmap.
[00:07:21] Andrei: And so very excited about that partnership because I, trust that the ability for borrowers, and again, it's all about bringing a simple to use product that's compliant and safe and secure.
So the key word is simple here. And if we're able to bring that lending product to Netcoins users within their app that they can just click one click of a button and they're able to borrow against their assets, I think that's gonna be a wonderful experience and something that is very needed in Canada.
And now to be able to do that with a regulated partner on both ends, that's just a wonderful product to, to bring to, to, to an end user. So working with Netcoins to, bring that to bring that partnership into closer alignment to, bring a product that's more integrated, that's more fluid, and, and, within the Netcoins app, I think is the next step that we're both very excited about.
On the, bigger picture side, obviously, as BIGG is an investor in APX Lending, which we're very thankful for. And again, we'll look for our partners, whether they be, white label partners or whether they be our investors to share our common values that building regulated, compliant crypto businesses, whether that's in Canada or globally, is the way to move forward in advancing this industry and bringing closer and closer to mass adoption.
I'm a true believer that in order for crypto to become a mass adopted product, compliant, regulated, and safe and secure and simple services are what is needed, and I think that vision is something that we share. It's a commonality between Netcoins and between APX Lending. So it's just, it's a very natural partnership and I look forward to building upon that.
And it doesn't have to just end with lending against Bitcoin and Ethereum. There's many more credit products that we can bring to Netcoins users and clients. So I look forward to continuing our, partnership.
[00:09:18] Fraser: It's all extremely exciting, and we're all excited to tune in and learn more.
So Andrei, where can we follow your progress?
[00:09:26] Andrei: So the best the best place is to check out our website at APXlending.com. It has all the links to all our social media there all the greatest news, the greatest product releases, the greatest blog posts, and the latest on our rates, which are continuously going down as we continue to bring better and better rates to our users.
[00:09:47] Fraser: Amazing. Thanks for your time today. We appreciate it.
[00:09:50] Andrei: Thanks for having me, Fraser.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, investment, or tax advice. APX Lending does not provide investment or tax recommendations. Borrowers should consult qualified professionals and conduct their own due diligence before entering into any crypto-backed lending arrangement.
As crypto adoption continues to grow, one of the biggest challenges facing Canadian investors is access to compliant lending solutions. While borrowing against digital assets has become increasingly popular worldwide, Canadian borrowers have historically been limited to offshore platforms operating outside domestic regulatory frameworks.
At Blockchain North 2025, APX Lending Founder and CEO Andrei Poliakov sat down with Fraser Matthews, President and CEO of Netcoins, to discuss APX Lending's journey to becoming Canada's first CSA-approved crypto-backed lender, the importance of working with regulators, and how compliant lending products can help drive the next phase of crypto adoption.
The conversation explores regulatory innovation, institutional partnerships, the future of crypto credit, and why Andrei believes safe, secure, and simple financial products are essential for bringing digital assets into the mainstream.
[00:00:00] Fraser: Hi, everyone. Fraser Matthews here, president and CEO of Netcoins, a BIGG digital assets company, and proud to bring to you today a great interview with Andrei Poliakov, the founder and CEO of APX Lending s- as part of our ongoing CEO interview series in partnership with Blockchain North.
So Andrei, great to see you today. Thanks for coming along for the show today.
[00:00:24] Andrei: Hi, Fraser, and thanks for having me on the show.
[00:00:27] Fraser: So Andrei, I'm gonna dive right into it. What's the biggest problem that APX Lending is solving for crypto investors and institutions here in Canada?
[00:00:36] Andrei: The problem that currently exists in the market is that there are no compliant, safe, and secure crypto-backed lending platforms in Canada.
That is, until APX Lending came to market early in 2025.
[00:00:45] Fraser: Tell us about the approach you've taken and, tell us about where you are on that journey.
[00:00:51] Andrei: So we have a, we had a vision. We had a, vision to build out a global leading compliant and licensed and approved crypto-backed lending platform, learning from the failures of some of the industry players of the past.
And so when we launched APX in early 2023, we approached the security commissions here in Canada very early on in the process, in line with that vision to build out the first compliant and, and securities commissions approved crypto-backed lending platform in the country.
[00:01:21] Fraser: Which is no small task.
How did you go about engaging with the regulators and how did you make it all work?
[00:01:29] Andrei: So I used to run a one of the leading crypto trading platforms in Canada called Coinberry, and Coinberry became the first crypto startup to actually get licensed by the OSC and the CSA back in early 2020.
And having exited that business and having launched APX the same sort of philosophy and the same approach was used in, in terms of our regulatory journey. So we approached the Ontario Securities Commission very early on, right at the very start, and we said, "Hey, look, we know that this current business model, this current service, doesn't exist in Canada at the moment.
Canadians don't have a compliant, and, safe platform to borrow from using their crypto as collateral. They're forced to go and use offshore companies that operate outside of Canadian jurisdiction. We wanna build a business that's based in Canada that follows the, rules and the laws of of the Canadian securities regulators, and so we wanna work with you."
And so the OSC was very receptive. They sat down at the table with us and together we built out sort of the framework of how a compliant, safe, and secure crypto-backed lending business could operate in Canada with full regard to borrower safety, borrower interest, and borrower security.
[00:02:51] Fraser: Tell us about some of your ecosystem partners that help power the loan book.
[00:02:56] Andrei: Sure. In April of this year, having received our approval from the CSA, we signed a an agreement with Cypress Hill Partners which is providing us the loan liquidity, the credit facility, in fact that we're utilizing for our loan book in Canada. Now, that's a an accordion $20 million facility that we're deploying from.
Very excited to be working with forward-thinking partners like that and there's a few others in Canada as well Netcoins being one of those. And the partnership that we have with Netcoins is something that we'll, go into in a little bit more detail, but it's something very exciting for Netcoins users in Canada, and, for APX as Well
[00:03:41] Fraser: That's great. Excited to chat about that as well. I'm gonna take you through a few quick hit questions here. Sure. Starting with, what is the most overlooked opportunity in crypto lending today?
[00:03:52] Andrei: I think it's the fact that you can actually marry the speed of DeFi with the compliance of a regulated platform.
You don't have to pick between the two, and we've really proven that to be our borrowers can onboard with APX Lending in a fully compliant manner, go through the entire loan application process from A to Z in literally under 10 minutes, and have their funds deployed to them as soon as the collateral lands.
So that speed is at DeFi-level speed. However, unlike DeFi, we also offer an amazing customer support experience and somebody to call if you have any questions hand-holding if required. And again, all wrapped within a fully compliant, safe and secure, and regulated platform.
Working with qualified custodians where the collateral is custodied in cold storage, fully insured, not re-hypothecated, not re-pledged visible to our borrower for the duration of the loan. The, safety that we bring to market is, second to none. It's a leading... It's a whole different ballgame versus what's available in the market vis-a-vis our competitors.
And like I said, at DeFi speed. So we don't we don't hold back when it comes to providing an absolutely top-tier experience for our borrowers.
[00:05:12] Fraser: Andrei, you are definitely a standout here in Canada as probably one of the only people that has built two regulated crypto businesses here and gone through the process of restricted dealer and exempted dealers.
Tell us what you've learned from building a regulated crypto business.
[00:05:31] Andrei: So one lesson is that it's not an easy feat. However, it is a challenge that can most definitely be overcome if you address it with an open mind and an ability to really see different- angles of the different stakeholders involved.
So there's a few, right? And you have the regulators. They have the mandate to protect investors in Canada. You have us. Our mandate is to build a profitable business. You have our clients as stakeholders, and our borrowers, and they want to borrow using their collateral and make sure that their collateral remains safe and secure.
And so when you marry all of those, it's the ability to really look at the problem from different angles and work with our regulators to really represent not us, not just our borrowers, but also the industry as well, and to educate. Education is a very big part of the regulatory process because we are creating something completely brand new.
The frameworks that we've built in my previous business and the frameworks we build with APX working with the regulators are brand new. They didn't exist before. And so the regulators are learning as we go along this whole process. We're all, to a certain extent, learning, but it's being able to really sit down and, educate and work together with regulators to really solve their concerns in a manner which still makes the business viable and profitable and in a manner that brings services and products to clients that they actually want and need.
[00:07:06] Fraser: Andrei, we've had the pleasure of working together, which has been great. I've really enjoyed working with you in partnership, and maybe you wanna talk a bit about the role that we've played as Netcoins and as Big Digital Assets in helping to advance your organization and your roadmap.
[00:07:21] Andrei: And so very excited about that partnership because I, trust that the ability for borrowers, and again, it's all about bringing a simple to use product that's compliant and safe and secure.
So the key word is simple here. And if we're able to bring that lending product to Netcoins users within their app that they can just click one click of a button and they're able to borrow against their assets, I think that's gonna be a wonderful experience and something that is very needed in Canada.
And now to be able to do that with a regulated partner on both ends, that's just a wonderful product to, to bring to, to, to an end user. So working with Netcoins to, bring that to bring that partnership into closer alignment to, bring a product that's more integrated, that's more fluid, and, and, within the Netcoins app, I think is the next step that we're both very excited about.
On the, bigger picture side, obviously, as BIGG is an investor in APX Lending, which we're very thankful for. And again, we'll look for our partners, whether they be, white label partners or whether they be our investors to share our common values that building regulated, compliant crypto businesses, whether that's in Canada or globally, is the way to move forward in advancing this industry and bringing closer and closer to mass adoption.
I'm a true believer that in order for crypto to become a mass adopted product, compliant, regulated, and safe and secure and simple services are what is needed, and I think that vision is something that we share. It's a commonality between Netcoins and between APX Lending. So it's just, it's a very natural partnership and I look forward to building upon that.
And it doesn't have to just end with lending against Bitcoin and Ethereum. There's many more credit products that we can bring to Netcoins users and clients. So I look forward to continuing our, partnership.
[00:09:18] Fraser: It's all extremely exciting, and we're all excited to tune in and learn more.
So Andrei, where can we follow your progress?
[00:09:26] Andrei: So the best the best place is to check out our website at APXlending.com. It has all the links to all our social media there all the greatest news, the greatest product releases, the greatest blog posts, and the latest on our rates, which are continuously going down as we continue to bring better and better rates to our users.
[00:09:47] Fraser: Amazing. Thanks for your time today. We appreciate it.
[00:09:50] Andrei: Thanks for having me, Fraser.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, investment, or tax advice. APX Lending does not provide investment or tax recommendations. Borrowers should consult qualified professionals and conduct their own due diligence before entering into any crypto-backed lending arrangement.
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