New to credit-based lending? Start with Capital-Efficient Lending, which covers reducing collateral requirements while remaining over-collateralized (100%+). This page covers the next step: lending with less than 100% collateral.
What is Under-Collateralized Lending?
Under-collateralized lending allows borrowers to access more capital than they deposit as collateral. This is how most lending outside DeFi works—and it’s the next frontier for DeFi.Over-Collateralized
Collateral > LoanDeposit $150 to borrow $100. Safe but capital inefficient.
Under-Collateralized
Collateral < LoanDeposit $50 to borrow $100. Requires trust—enabled by credit scoring.
The Market Opportunity
1
Institutional Under-Collateralized Lending
Happening today through protocols such as Maple Finance and TrueFi. However, loans are approved by governance token-holders, so risk underwriting is fundamentally “human powered” and limited in scale.
2
The Scale Gap
Governance-approved lending works for a few dozen institutional borrowers. It cannot extend to the thousands of treasuries, protocols, agents and power users whose on-chain history already speaks for them.
3
The Missing Piece
To lend at that scale you need to quantify risk algorithmically: a credit score. That’s what we’re building at Cred Protocol.
How Cred Protocol Enables Under-Collateralized Lending
Risk Quantification at Scale
Dynamic Collateral Requirements
Under-collateralized lending requires collateral ratios below 100%. Only the most creditworthy borrowers with verified identity qualify:Loan Eligibility Framework
Under-Collateralized Tiers
Under-collateralized lending is a premium product requiring excellent credit and verified identity:Tiered Access Model
Risk Mitigation Strategies
For Lenders
Diversified Loan Pools
Diversified Loan Pools
Spread risk across many borrowers with varying credit profiles. A well-diversified pool can absorb individual defaults while remaining profitable.
Progressive Trust Building
Progressive Trust Building
Start borrowers with small limits and increase over time based on repayment behavior. This limits exposure while building track record.
Identity Requirements
Identity Requirements
Require identity attestations (ENS, Gitcoin Passport) for under-collateralized loans. This adds accountability and reduces sybil attacks.
Real-Time Monitoring
Real-Time Monitoring
Monitor borrower positions and credit scores continuously. Early warning systems can trigger margin calls or reduced limits before defaults occur.
Implementation Example
The Vision: Credit Built On-Chain
Under-collateralized lending isn’t just about capital efficiency—it lets a track record built on-chain count for something. Treasuries, protocols and agents with years of visible history can be priced on that history instead of locking up idle capital.
Who Benefits
Products that lend to individuals on these signals use consumer-report delivery, which adds ranked key factors, an inquiry record and a dispute process.
Getting Started
Capital-Efficient Lending
Start here: reduced collateral while staying over-collateralized
Get Credit Score
Assess an address’s credit profile
Get Credit Report
Deep dive into an address’s financial profile
Contact Us
Discuss integration and consumer-credit certification for your lending product