Firefish - Risk and return review
Firefish - Returns and loss rates
Firefish – Platform statistics 2026
Firefish – Pros & Cons
About Firefish
What it is
Firefish is a marketplace where you lend euros or other currencies to people who pledge bitcoin as security. It is run by Firefish Europe s.r.o., a Slovak company based in Banská Bystrica. On 30 October 2026 its home page showed more than 33,000 loans, more than 32,000 users (borrowers and lenders together) and 7,600 bitcoin held as security.
How it works
Borrowers lock bitcoin worth about twice the loan before any money moves. Lenders post offers in EUR, CZK, CHF, PLN or USD and pick the rate and the term; loans typically run 3 to 24 months. You get your money back with all the interest at the end of the term, not in monthly instalments. You never hold bitcoin yourself. The marketplace minimum is EUR 800. Firefish does not check borrowers' credit: the bitcoin pledged is the only qualification. An Auto Invest service and instant loans are run by a sister company, Firefish Peer Servicing s.r.o.; in August 2026 Auto Invest required at least EUR 150,000 and placed money through a Firefish company set up for the purpose. A separate credit fund is open only to qualified investors.
Returns
The rates actually agreed are slightly below the headline. Over the 14 days to 24 October 2026, new 12-month loans paid an average of 9.9% a year in euros, 9.9% in US dollars and 7.0% in Swiss francs. The platform advertises up to 11% a year. These are agreed interest rates on new loans, before any losses. Firefish publishes no figure for what lenders actually earned.
Losses and defaults
Firefish publishes no default, liquidation or loss figures. After more than 33,000 loans, there is no public count of how often bitcoin had to be sold, at what price, or whether any lender was left short (as of October 2026). When a borrower does not repay or the bitcoin price falls too far, the security is sold automatically; the platform's own explanation of this is a video, not data.
What secures your money
Each loan is backed by bitcoin worth about twice the amount lent (about 50% loan-to-value at the start). The bitcoin sits in a separate escrow address for each loan, never pooled, which needs three keys to move: one each for the borrower, the lender and Firefish. If the bitcoin price falls, the borrower is warned and can add more; if it falls further, the bitcoin is sold automatically, at about 95% loan-to-value according to outside descriptions. Time-locked recovery transactions are built in so loans can be settled if Firefish stops operating. There is no buyback, reserve fund or insurance. What this means for you: a normal bitcoin fall is covered by the double security, but a very sudden crash could leave you short, and every loan carries this same risk at the same time, so spreading money over many loans does not reduce it.
Who runs it and its licence
Firefish Europe s.r.o. (company number 55 912 974, Slovakia) holds an EU crypto-asset service provider authorisation under MiCA from Národná banka Slovenska, the Slovak central bank. It appears on the French regulator AMF's list of authorised providers, with services in France from 1 August 2026. That authorisation covers only the bitcoin escrow, the sale of security and the related bitcoin transfers. The platform itself says the lending marketplace falls outside it. So the loans are not regulated: there is no crowdfunding or lending licence, no key information sheet and no compensation scheme.
Fees
Lenders pay no platform fee, so the rate you agree is the rate you receive. Borrowers pay the interest plus an origination fee of 1.5% a year. When security is sold, a fee is taken from the bitcoin, which reduces the cushion left for the lender.
Getting your money out
Your money is tied up until the loan ends, typically 3 to 24 months, and is paid back in one sum with the interest. There is no market to sell a loan to another investor. An offer that does not find a borrower expires after 14 days.
Our view
Return: Medium. Agreed rates of about 9.9% a year on new euro loans (October 2026) are fair for this type of lending. Risk: High (higher means more risk). The double bitcoin security is a real protection, but no loss or liquidation figures have ever been published, the lending itself sits outside any licence, and one event, a bitcoin crash, threatens every loan at once. Risk-return: Low. A medium return does not clearly pay for that much unmeasured risk.
Regulation
License / Regulation: Firefish Europe s.r.o. (Slovakia, company number 55 912 974) holds a MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation from Národná banka Slovenska, seen on the French AMF list of authorised providers (services in France from 1 August 2026). It covers only the bitcoin escrow, the sale of security and related bitcoin transfers. The loans themselves are not regulated: no crowdfunding, lending or investment licence and no compensation scheme.
Functionality
For Investors
For Fund Seekers
Useful Information
Only in part. Firefish Europe s.r.o. holds an EU crypto-asset service provider authorisation from the Slovak central bank, which covers the bitcoin escrow and the sale of security. The lending itself is not covered by any licence, and no compensation scheme applies.
Money paid through accounts held on the platform is handled by PAYMONT, UAB, an electronic money institution licensed in Lithuania. Otherwise you send money from your own bank account or stablecoin wallet to the borrower. The borrower's bitcoin is held in a separate three-key escrow address for each loan.
EUR 800 per loan on the marketplace. Auto Invest required EUR 150,000 in August 2026, and the credit fund is open only to qualified investors.
New 12-month euro loans paid an average of 9.9% a year over the 14 days to 24 October 2026; the platform advertises up to 11%. Firefish publishes no default, liquidation or loss figures, so losses so far are unknown.
Bitcoin worth about twice the loan, locked in a separate escrow address that needs three keys (borrower, lender, Firefish). If the price falls, the borrower must add bitcoin or it is sold automatically. There is no buyback, reserve fund or insurance, and a very sudden crash could leave lenders short.
No. There is no secondary market. Your money comes back in one sum, with interest, when the loan ends, typically after 3 to 24 months.
Lenders pay no platform fee. Borrowers pay an origination fee of 1.5% a year, and a fee is taken from the bitcoin when security has to be sold.
Each loan's escrow includes time-locked recovery transactions, so loans can be settled without Firefish. No compensation scheme covers lenders.
No. You lend in EUR, CZK, CHF, PLN or USD and are repaid in the same currency. Only the borrower pledges bitcoin.
Firefish does not explain taxes. How the interest is taxed depends on the rules of the country where you are tax resident.
