“November and December were the most active months to date as we saw new hedge funds and trading firms utilizing “spot” borrow,” the firm said in its Digital Asset Lending Snapshot. “This growth combined with new business lines (e.g., lending cash for crypto collateral) has driven our loan book to $153M in active loans outstanding, up $23M from Q3, despite a 44% price decline in bitcoin (BTC).” Ether shorting has driven some of the growth in the firm’s lending business, but traders have been largely unsuccessful. As noted by the report, Ether borrowing more than doubled since Q3 as borrowers looked to short the coin. But data shows many traders were unable to time the market, opening larger positions after selling momentum had already kicked in.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/01/30/genesis-capital-has-originated-over-1-billion-in-crypto-loans-even-as-the-bear-market-reigns/