Top NFT Lending Platforms in 2026.

Okay, picture this: You've got this killer Bored Ape in your wallet, floor price sitting at 25 ETH. Market's dipping, but you don't wanna sell. Bills piling up though. Sound familiar? That's me last year. I jumped on NFTfi, listed the Ape, grabbed a quick 10 ETH loan at 15% APR for 30 days. Paid it back early, kept the NFT, and watched it moon 2x. Saved my ass. But honestly, if I'd misjudged the timing? Gone. Lender forecloses, Ape's theirs.

That's NFT lending in a nutshell. Lock your NFT as collateral, borrow crypto like ETH or USDC. Repay with interest, get it back. Don't? They take it. Super handy for HODLers needing cash without dumping. And in 2026? Platforms are slicker, safer, with better rates. But risks? Still there. Floor crashes, you're liquidated.

Now, why bother? Liquidity without selling. Flip another NFT, cover life stuff, yield farm. I usually check LTV first - that's loan to value ratio. Aim for 40-60% to stay safe. Higher? Risky if prices drop 20%.

Top platforms crushing it right now

• NFTfi - OG peer to peer. List NFT, lenders bid. No auto liquidation, fixed terms. My go to for blue chips.
• Blur Blend - Perpetual loans on Ethereum/Solana. P2P, endless duration till interest piles up. Traders love it.
• BendDAO - Pool model. Borrow from liquidity vaults against NFT floor price. Up to 40% LTV, auto rates.
• X2Y2 - Integrated with their marketplace. Quick ETH loans, low fees. Good for quick flips.
• JPG Store - Solana focused. Fast, cheap gas. Ordinals and JPEGs shine here.

These five? Pretty much dominate 2026. NFTfi for control, Blend for no deadline stress, Bend for passive pools. Pick based on your chain - ETH heavy? NFTfi or Blend. Solana? JPG.

How NFTfi works - step by freakin'-step

Look, NFTfi's my favorite 'cause it's straightforward. No pools guessing your NFT's worth. Real lenders appraise it. Here's how you borrow.

1. Connect wallet. MetaMask, WalletConnect, whatever. Hit "Get a loan" tab. No gas yet.
2. Pick your NFT. BAYC, Azuki, whatever ERC-721. Set min loan (say 5 wETH), max APR (like 12%), duration (7-180 days). List it. Sign message - gasless.
3. Wait for offers. Lenders see it, bid. You'll get notifs. Compare: 8 wETH at 10% for 30 days? Or 10 at 18%? Your call.
4. Accept one. Boom - single tx: NFT to escrow, funds to you, promissory note to lender. Need ETH for gas (~0.005 ETH on ETH mainnet).
5. Repay before due. Go to loan page, input ID (find on Etherscan or OpenSea). Approve wETH/USDC/DAI spend (one time per token). Pay principal + interest. NFT back instantly. Platform skims 5% of interest as fee.

What's next if you default? Lender forecloses after term ends. No grace - they own it. Pro tip: Keep extra ETH/wETH ready. I always wrap 0.1 extra ETH upfront.

In my experience, list during high volume. Weekends? Slower offers. And check NFT rarity - rares get better terms.

Common screw ups on NFTfi (and fixes)

Forget to approve NFT collection? Tx fails. Fix: Do it once per collection via "Approvals" tab. CryptoKitties? Per kitty, annoying but true.

Gas spikes? Wait for L2 like Base if supported, or Arbitrum bridges. NFTfi's on ETH but plans multi chain.

Blur Blend - for when you hate deadlines

But say you want endless time? Blur's Blend is wild. Perpetual P2P. Borrow ETH forever, pay interest ongoing. Liquidation only if collateral health drops bad.

Steps as borrower:

1. Connect to app.blend.trade. Fund with collateral NFTs.
2. Inventory page - select NFT(s), request loan amount (up to 50% floor usually), interest rate you tolerate (5-20% APY).
3. Browse aggregated offers. Pick best price/APY combo. Accept - NFT escrowed, ETH hits wallet.
4. Monitor health factor. Pay interest weekly ish via dashboard. Or repay full anytime.

Lenders? Set max lend per NFT, APY you want (lower = more Blur Points, their loyalty thing). Kinda gamified.

Issue? Interest accrues forever. I saw a dude borrow 5 ETH on a Pudgy, pay 0.2 ETH/month interest. Sustainable if NFT moons. Gas? Solana version ~0.000005 SOL. ETH side, 0.002 ETH/tx.

BendDAO - Pool lending, less hassle

Don't wanna haggle with lenders? BendDAO's peer to pool. Drop NFT in vault, borrow instant from liquidity providers. Algorithm sets rate based on liquidity.

Here's the flow:

• Connect wallet, pick NFT.
• Oracle pings floor price (Chainlink from OpenSea). Max loan ~40% of floor. Say Moonbird floor 4 ETH, borrow 1.6.
• Choose vault (different APYs, durations). APR auto adjusts - low liquidity? Jumps to 25%.
• Approve and borrow. NFT locked till repay.

Repay anytime, or health factor tanks (below 1)? 48-hour grace, then auctioned. Fees? 5-10% on interest. Pro: Passive. Con: Lower LTV, floor dependent.

I used it for a quick 2 ETH on a Mutant Ape. Rates were 8%. Paid back in a week after flipping a cheap land plot.

Quick compare - don't overthink it

Platform	LTV Max	Fees	Best For	Risks
NFTfi	50-90%	5% of interest	Blue chips, fixed terms	Default = full loss
Blur Blend	40-60%	Interest only	Traders, perpetual	Interest creep
BendDAO	~40%	5-10% interest	Instant, pools	Floor crashes
X2Y2	50-70%	0.5% borrow	Marketplace users	Lower volume
JPG Store	30-50%	~0.1% + Sol gas	Solana NFTs	Chain speed varies

See? NFTfi wins on LTV, but Blend's flexible. Numbers from recent loans - check app for live.

Using crypto lending platforms for your NFTs? Hybrid hack

Wait, those crypto lenders like Aave or Ledn? They don't take NFTs direct. But hack: Bridge NFT value to wrapped tokens sometimes, or use platforms like Binance Loans if they expand. Nah, stick to NFT specialists. Ledn's BTC only anyway.

Compound? ETH assets. But for pure NFTs, no dice. Thing is, NFT platforms evolved separate 'cause valuing uniques is tricky.

Risks - yeah, they bite

First, market vol. NFT floor -30%? Your LTV spikes, boom liquidated. Solution? Overcollateralize. Borrow 40% max.

Smart contract bugs. All audited, but hacks happen. NFTfi never rehypothecates - collateral safe in escrow.

Gas fees. ETH mainnet? 10-50 bucks per tx. Use L2s where possible. Solana? Pennies.

Scams. Fake sites. Always app.nftfi.com or official. Verify contract on Etherscan.

Taxes? US here - borrowing ain't taxable, but interest might be. Track with tools like Zerion.

Why does this matter? I know a guy who listed a 10 ETH clone, borrowed 6. Floor halved overnight. Foreclosed. Zero mercy.

Lending side - flip the script

Wanna be lender? Easy money. On NFTfi, browse listings. Offer 70% value at 12% APR. They accept? NFT escrowed, you hold promissory note. They repay? Interest yours minus 5%. Default? Claim NFT, flip it.

Blend? Set standing offers per collection. Earn APY passively. I lent 20 ETH across Azukis last month. Pulled 1.2 ETH interest.

Tips I swear by for noobs

Start small. Test with a 0.5 ETH junk NFT.

Monitor 24/7. Dune dashboards for floors. Set alerts on Telegram bots.

Multi collateral. Some platforms let you bundle 3-5 NFTs for better LTV.

Repay early. Interest stops, NFT free.

Flash loan combos? Advanced - borrow from Aave, list NFT, repay. But gas eats profits.

And chains? ETH still king, but Solana's catching. JPG Store gas negligible. Fees 0.0001 SOL.

Your first loan - do this today

Grab MetaMask. Fund 0.05 ETH gas. Head to NFTfi. List a cheap punk or something. Set conservative terms: 30% LTV, 10% APR, 14 days. See offers roll in. Accept lowest interest. Repay sim. You'll get it.

Stuck? Their Discord's lit. 24/7 humans, not bots.