Butn Ltd and APX Lending to Form Joint Venture to Capture $20 Billion APAC Crypto-Backed Lending Market.

Strategic partnership to redefine crypto-backed lending across Australia, New Zealand, and the broader APAC region

Key highlights:

• Butn Ltd and APX Lending sign binding MOU to launch Crypto-Backed lending product in Australia and New Zealand in Q2 2025
• Strategic partnership to redefine under-serviced crypto-backed lending across Australia, New Zealand and the broader APAC region

MELBOURNE, Australia and TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2024 /CNW/ - Butn Ltd (ASX: BTN), a leading Australian-based transactional funder has entered into a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Canadian crypto-backed lending platform APX Lending to form a Joint Venture that will redefine crypto-backed lending across Australia, New Zealand and APAC. The partnership combines Butn's regulatory expertise and local market leadership with APX Lending's advanced crypto-backed lending technology to create a compliant and secure platform, offering under-serviced borrowers unparalleled access to regulated crypto-backed lending in the region.

By merging Butn's expertise in lending and local market insights with APX Lending's advanced crypto-backed lending technology, the partnership aims to establish a new standard for safe, secure and regulated crypto-backed lending in the APAC region.

The Joint Venture is on track for a launch across Australia and New Zealand in Q2 2025, with subsequent expansion planned across APAC  and is well positioned to become the leading regulated crypto-backed lending platform in this rapidly growing and under-serviced market.

Andrei Poliakov, CEO of APX Lending, added, "This partnership with Butn is a major milestone in our mission to deliver secure, regulated and innovative crypto-backed lending solutions globally. By combining our technology with Butn's regulatory expertise and experience lending in Australia and New Zealand, we're offering a transformative crypto-backed lending solution to the APAC market. As APX Lending continues to grow internationally, we are committed to partnering with top regional leaders to build a global powerhouse in regulated crypto-backed lending."

Butn's Co-founder and Co-CEO, Rael Ross said, "This JV with APX Lending represents a significant opportunity off the back of Butn's Retail Private Credit Fund launch earlier this year and the expansion of Butn's leading suite of transactional funding products to now include secure and innovative crypto-backed lending solutions. With Bitcoin hitting $USD100,000, combined with APX Lending's extensive crypto know-how, there has never been a better time for Butn to offer a transformative, crypto-backed lending solution to the APAC market. This announcement and subsequent launch show the true nature, robustness and popularity of the Butn suite of product offerings following the milestone of over $2 Billion in originations since inception."

The Joint Venture will empower crypto holders in Australia, New Zealand and the larger APAC region to unlock liquidity by borrowing against their crypto assets on a compliant, safe and secure platform. APX Lending continues to see unprecedented loan demand in Canada and the U.S. whilst Butn has fielded many inquiries from potential borrowers in APAC, underlining the surging demand for crypto-backed loans globally. With this Crypto Lending product suite live in APAC in Q2 2025, Butn and APX Lending seek to lead the market with their leading technology and lending expertise.

About APX Lending

APX Lending is a leading Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed lending platform, registered with FINTRAC in Canada and FinCEN in the U.S., dedicated to providing compliant, safe, and secure lending solutions to individual and institutional clients globally. Founded by Andrei Poliakov, co-founder of Coinberry, one of Canada's largest regulated crypto trading platforms, APX Lending is redefining the landscape of crypto-backed lending with a focus on transparency, security, and regulatory compliance. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of the digital asset space, APX Lending seeks to serve a rapidly growing global market. With a seasoned team of industry experts, APX Lending offers innovative crypto-backed lending products, including a white label solution for banks, credit unions, and financial institutions worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.apxlending.com.

About Butn Ltd.

Butn Limited (ASX: BTN) is an Australian Business-to-Business ('B2B') funder innovating the way SMEs fund and grow their businesses. Butn focuses on transactional funding – funding SME businesses through their working capital constraints by financing individual transactions, leveraging the end debtor's credit. With a vision of "Your money, today" Butn delivers cashflow funding solutions at the click of a Butn having funded over $2 billion to Australian businesses. For more information visit www.butn.co