Student loan real-world asset (RWA) protocol Pencil Finance has completed a $1 million onchain student loan cycle, delivering financing to thousands of students in Southeast Asia who lack access to traditional lenders.
According to an announcement shared on Thursday, the platform deployed $1 million in capital as an onchain lender. The funds were subsequently repaid by borrowers to the bundle's funders alongside generated yield.
The funding bundle was established in July 2025 by Animoca Brands, Open Campus, and New Campus. It was structured using a senior tranche featuring fixed returns alongside a junior tranche carrying variable returns and first-loss risk.
Reaching Underserved Borrowers
The $1 million onchain loan cycle extended financing to roughly 6,600 students spread across 118 schools and universities throughout Southeast Asia. Pencil Finance stated that this represents the first fully onchain lending cycle used to finance student loans with transparent records on a blockchain network.
Out of the total student count, approximately 1,050 individuals received direct funding. The protocol noted that the loans targeted students traditionally underserved by regular financial institutions, noting that 50% of the borrowers were female and 93% originated from lower-income households.
Broader RWA Adoption
The milestone highlights the growing utilization of tokenized real-world assets to issue or secure loans across various sectors. For instance, Brazil's B3 stock exchange issued a loan in July valued at 100,000 Brazilian reais (approximately $19,600) secured by 10 tokenized cows. In that instance, each animal received a unique digital token tied to an encrypted identity, while smart collars tracked their health.
