Goldfinch is a decentralized global credit protocol using crypto to empower financial inclusion around the world.

Goldfinch allows crypto lenders to earn stable, sustainable crypto yields by facilitating real-world loans to established credit funds and fintechs in emerging markets. Since launching in July 2021:

• Attracted ≥$120m of liquidity (TVL)
• Doubled active loans (in USDC) every 2 months to $102M
• Helped to finance +400k real-world borrowers across 19 countries
• Backed by world-class investors such as a16z, Coinbase Ventures, and Kindred Ventures

Yield Options

Returns in the Goldfinch protocol are generated by the interest payments made on loans given to real-world businesses through Borrower Pools. These yields are uncorrelated with crypto markets as they are generated through real-world activity.

There are two ways to provide capital into Borrower Pools: as an “LP” into the Senior Pool and as a “Backer” into Backer Pools.

• Senior Pool (15 - 34% APY Gross): a passive, protected Pool that is diversified across all Borrower Pools in the protocol once the “junior tranche” is filled by Backers.

  • Role of Lender: LP
  • Cash: 5% - 9% USDC APY
  • Variable Token*: 10 - 25%
    • Note: LPs must stake FIDU in order to receive this variable token yield
  • Mechanism: when LPs deposit USDC into the Senior Pool, they receive “FIDU,” ERC-20 tokens representing their stake in the Senior Pool (similar to cTokens in Compound) and which earn interest
  • Liquidity: LPs are able to withdraw as long as there is USDC in the Senior Pool (no lock-up periods, but there is a small withdrawal fee)
    • Note: there is a USDC-FIDU Curve Pool; USDC-FIDU Curve LP Tokens can also be staked to earn GFI

• Backer Pool (30 - 70% APY Gross): an active, “first-loss” risk Pool that is allocated to a specific Borrower Pool

  • Role of Lender: Backer
  • Cash: 15% - 25% USDC APY
  • Variable Token*: 15 - 45% (a higher rewards / premium received compared to Senior Pool LPs due to the Backer’s extra effort to evaluate Borrower Pools and the additional risk)
    • Note: there are two sources of rewards a) Backer Staking Rewards, equivalent to the APY earned by LPs who stake FIDU, and b) Backer Rewards received as GFI based on interest payments repaid into the respective Borrower Pool
  • Mechanism: Backers receive NFTs representing their positions, which allows Backers to access only their “fair share” of interest + principal that has been repaid by borrowers
  • Liquidity: Backers can withdraw their portion of repayments as they are made (typically monthly), but the full lock-up period depends on the tenure of a Borrower Pool’s underlying loan facilities (typically 3 years)

*Variable Token: Awarded in Goldfinch governance token (GFI) rewards whose value can fluctuate depending upon the GFI price and total capital supplied, see here for additional information on Tokenomics.

All lenders must go through KYC, KYB, and accreditation (for US investors) to participate in the protocol. After completing the verification process, protocol users are granted a Unique Identity NFT (UID) for on-chain access to Pools.

Team and Investors

Goldfinch was founded in 2020 by two ex-Coinbase employees:

• Mike Sall, Cofounder and CEO — previously Head of Product Analytics at Coinbase and Head of Data Science at Medium
• Blake West, Cofounder and CTO — previously Senior Backend Engineer at Coinbase and Software Engineer and first hire at Hint Health
• Samuel Eyob, Chief Investment Officer — previously Principal at Lendable, Credit Risk at Goldman Sachs