Othera and Credit Crowd strike a blockchain partnership

Blockchained and P2P is fintechs cutting edge

Credit Crowd gets on Othera’s blockchain, citing transparency as the key issue.

Blockchain provider Othera has linked up with Australian fintech lender Credit Crowd, allowing the Sydney fintech to digitise its loans on blockchain. 

The partnership will allow Credit Crowd’s loans to be tokenised and traded on digital asset token exchanges—in effect, a kind of securitisation. 

“Credit Crowd have returned 100 percent of interest and capital to their investors which is a testament to their responsible lending practices and also a reflection of their deep understanding and experience in the industry,” said John Pellew, CEO of Othera. 

“Stringent credit approval and underwriting standards are of utmost importance when valuing alternative assets, and we are doing our best to provide a profitable experience to investors on the Digital Asset Token Exchange.”

Othera provides a two-way online marketplace where lenders can digitise loans on blockchain, then tokenise the cashflow. The result, a statement by the company said, is that Othera helps “turn an illiquid asset, like a loan, into a new class of digital, fixed income asset that represents the right to cashflow, much like a bond.”

The company provides its own private exchange because there is no public exchange for trading alternative assets—limiting secondary market liquidity. It also provides APIs that can connect to any major public exchange that can list digital assets.

Credit Crowd is a P2P marketplace that specialises in short-term loans, secured by first mortgage properties. The company claims to have facilitated more than A$100 million worth of loans since its founding in 2012 and managed over A$50 million in their retail fund.

For Credit Crowd the advantage of using blockchain is that it is transparent, allowing its investors to more easily see its loans. 

“We’ve been impressed by the sophistication of Othera’s technology and their willingness to work closely with us to achieve exciting outcomes,” said Ivan Ruefli, Director at Credit Crowd.

Blockchain’s popularity in Australia - and globally - has been growing apace. According to a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, more than US $1.4b has been spent investigating and developing new blockchain technology.