Bringing student loans onchain could boost the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) by more than 4x, according to Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu.
Speaking at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Siu highlighted the $3 trillion global student loan market as a major untapped opportunity. Moving even 10% of this onchain, he argued, would dramatically accelerate the growth of DeFi.
“You basically more than quadruple TVL in all of DeFi,” Siu said, calling it a sign that the industry is still in its early innings.
Web3 Tools for the Unbanked
Siu also emphasized how Web3-based education finance could serve as a gateway for crypto adoption—particularly among the unbanked.
“The first unbanked are the kids,” he said. “If a student receives and repays a loan onchain—regulated, better, faster, cheaper—they’re onboarded for crypto for life.”
He likened the opportunity to the early success of PayPal and Venmo, which scaled by serving underserved users.
Animoca Bets on Blockchain-Based Student Loans
Siu spotlighted Animoca’s recent investment in Pencil Finance, a startup offering crypto-native student loans. Pencil Finance currently operates in the Philippines and Indonesia and plans to expand to the U.S.
On April 30, the company announced a $10 million initiative to issue blockchain-backed education loans at lower cost.
Siu said the industry needs more “positive-sum use cases” like student loans—solutions that are easy to understand and directly benefit users. “Students would be more pro-crypto,” he said, “if they had more real-world opportunities through crypto loans.”
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.
Source: https://coindoo.com/onchain-student-loans-could-quadruple-defi-tvl/