Key Facts
Galaxy Research’s State of Crypto Leverage Q1 2026 report ranks Nexo as the third-largest tracked CeFi lender, with a 7.02% market share, up 55 basis points from Q4 2025.
Nexo was one of only four CeFi lenders to grow its loan book during the quarter, adding $11.18 million (+0.63%) even as the overall CeFi market contracted 7.23%.
Together, Tether (62.25%), Maple (8.39%) and Nexo (7.02%) now control 77.66% of the tracked CeFi lending market, up 229 basis points QoQ.
Total crypto-collateralized lending fell $3.62 billion (-5.1%) to $67.42 billion in Q1 2026, with DeFi loans down $4.53 billion after two nine-figure exploits.
CeFi lending recorded its first quarterly decline since Q4 2023 but held above Q3 2025 levels despite BTC, ETH and SOL falling 34%, 48% and 59% since the October liquidation event.
Nexo strengthened its position in the centralised crypto lending market during a quarter when most of its peers were shrinking, according to Galaxy Research‘s latest State of Crypto Leverage report. The platform ranked as the third-largest tracked CeFi lender with a 7.02% market share and was one of only four lenders in the analysis to grow its loan book, even as total crypto-collateralized lending contracted by $3.62 billion across the quarter.
Nexo grows while the market shrinks
Galaxy tracked $25.43 billion of open CeFi borrows at the end of Q1 2026, a 7.23% (-$1.98 billion) contraction that marked the sector’s first quarterly decline since Q4 2023. Against that backdrop, Nexo expanded its book by $11.18 million (+0.63%) — a modest absolute gain, but a notable one given that most CeFi books compressed over the period. Only Maple, Milo, Coinbase and Nexo registered growth; Tether, the dominant lender, recorded its first quarterly decline since Q4 2021.
That divergence lifted Nexo’s standing in the rankings. Its market share rose 55 basis points QoQ to 7.02%, placing it third behind Tether (62.25%) and Maple (8.39%). The three lenders together now control 77.66% of the tracked CeFi lending market, up 229 basis points from Q4 2025 — a concentration that underlines how the surviving, well-capitalised lenders have absorbed share through the post-2022 cycle.
A flight-to-quality quarter
Nexo’s relative outperformance came in a quarter defined by stress elsewhere. DeFi lending fell $4.53 billion (-13.82%) to $28.22 billion — its second consecutive quarterly decline — driven by two nine-figure exploits: Drift was drained for $285 million, and a LayerZero/KelpDAO exploit took $290 million, with knock-on effects on Aave. In the two weeks after the LayerZero/KelpDAO incident, Aave saw more than $5.5 billion of stablecoin supply leave and over 943,000 WETH withdrawn.
The contrast between on-chain turmoil and CeFi resilience is the report’s central theme — and the dynamic that favoured established lenders like Nexo. Galaxy frames the CeFi contraction as gradual deleveraging rather than a 2022-style collapse, attributing the sector’s durability to improved collateral quality and the disappearance of undercollateralised credit and rehypothecation from common practice. CeFi books held above their Q3 2025 levels despite BTC, ETH and SOL falling 34%, 48% and 59% respectively since the 10 October liquidation cascade.
The wider leverage picture
All told, crypto-collateralized lending contracted $3.62 billion (-5.1%) to $67.42 billion, 14.3% below the Q3 2025 high of $78.67 billion. Galaxy is also tracking more than $17.5 billion in debt funding digital asset treasury strategies, while futures open interest fell 12.83% QoQ to $104.19 billion before rebounding 26.62% off its late-February low.
For Nexo, the report lands as external validation of a recovery narrative the firm has been building since returning to the US market in 2025 after its 2022–2024 regulatory settlements. Holding the No. 3 CeFi position through a stress quarter — and gaining share while the market contracted — is the kind of datapoint that supports that repositioning.
FAQ
Where does Nexo rank in Galaxy’s Q1 2026 lending report?
Nexo is the third-largest tracked CeFi lender in the report, with a 7.02% market share, up 55 basis points from Q4 2025. It sits behind Tether (62.25%) and Maple (8.39%), with the three lenders together controlling 77.66% of the tracked CeFi market.
Did Nexo’s loan book grow or shrink in Q1 2026?
Nexo’s loan book grew by $11.18 million (+0.63%) during the quarter, making it one of only four tracked CeFi lenders to expand — alongside Maple, Milo and Coinbase — while the overall CeFi market contracted 7.23% and recorded its first quarterly decline since Q4 2023.
How did the broader crypto lending market perform?
Total crypto-collateralized lending fell $3.62 billion (-5.1%) to $67.42 billion. DeFi lending dropped $4.53 billion to $28.22 billion following two nine-figure exploits, while CeFi held up better, supported by improved collateral standards and more disciplined lending practices.
Nexo’s quarter illustrates a broader pattern Galaxy has tracked across the post-2022 cycle: market share consolidating among a shrinking group of disciplined, well-capitalised CeFi lenders, even as the on-chain segment absorbs the sharpest shocks. Whether Nexo can convert a flight-to-quality quarter into durable share gains will depend on how the next bout of volatility tests the cohort. This article is informational and does not constitute investment advice.
