Animoca’s Yat Siu says student loans can supercharge DeFi growth
Bringing student loans onchain could increase the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) by over four times, according to Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands. The $3 trillion global student loan market presents an untapped opportunity for crypto. Moving 10% of this market onchain could significantly enhance DeFi growth. Web3-based financial tools for education could drive mass crypto adoption, particularly among young and unbanked individuals. Siu compared this potential to the growth of PayPal and Venmo. Animoca Brands has invested in Pencil Finance, a startup offering crypto-native student loans, which plans to expand from the Philippines and Indonesia to the US. Pencil Finance recently announced a $10 million initiative for blockchain-backed loans. Siu emphasized that education is a natural use case for Web3, suggesting that integrating financial infrastructure into educational experiences could create a decentralized financial ecosystem.
