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Editorial policy8lends is a peer-to-peer crypto crowdlending platform on the Base blockchain that links Web3 investors with real-world businesses. It supports USDC-denominated investments in private credit for SMEs and records transactions on-chain for transparency.
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8lends is a peer-to-peer crypto crowdlending platform on the Base blockchain that links Web3 investors with real-world businesses. It supports USDC-denominated investments in private credit for SMEs and records transactions on-chain for transparency.
8lends operates as a decentralized peer-to-peer crowdlending service on the Base blockchain, enabling crypto capital to flow into real-world companies. The platform sits within the Real-World Asset (RWA) domain and connects Web3 investors with small and medium-sized enterprises seeking financing.
The platform opens access to private credit opportunities that are typically hard for individual investors to reach. It aggregates funds from multiple backers to underwrite a single business loan, a practice known as crowdlending. All investments are made in USDC and transactions are logged on the Base blockchain to ensure transparency. The stated aim is to make peer-to-peer investing in real-world businesses straightforward, transparent, and available to every Web3 investor.
Risk management on 8lends relies on asset-backed lending: each loan is secured by tangible business assets such as equipment, inventory, or real estate. Legal custody and management of collateral are handled by the platform's Swiss partner, Maclear AG, which also performs in-depth due diligence on borrower candidates. For certain loans, the platform provides a BuyBack Guarantee intended to protect investors' principal.
The initiative originated from Maclear AG and builds on that firm's experience in the European investment space. The ecosystem includes a native utility token called 8LNDS, which is utilized for rewards and to enable access to platform features.
8lends was created as a Web3 extension of Maclear AG, a Swiss investment firm, drawing on what the project describes as Maclear AG's "4 Years of Proven Expertise" in sourcing and managing traditional European investments. The project is officially linked to Maclear AG and lists a physical location at Teichgässlein 9, 4058 Basel, Switzerland. The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the project, , was created in August 2024.
During early 2026 the project broadened its public outreach. On January 27, 2026, Axl Marchena represented 8lends as a panelist at the BeInCrypto Digital Summit 2026, where he addressed the RWA landscape alongside representatives from Avail, Centrifuge, Polygon, and Blockdaemon. The platform also organized an X Space for January 28, 2026 to cover "Private Credit and the 'Shadow Banking System'."
8lends runs a crowdlending marketplace that connects two primary participant groups: crypto investors seeking yield and businesses in need of funding.
For Investors
The investor workflow is structured to be completed in three steps:
Following an investment, interest is disbursed to investors monthly and the principal is returned at the loan's maturity. 8lends does not levy platform or commission fees on investors; the only charges incurred are the standard network gas fees on the Base blockchain, paid in ETH.
For Borrowers
The platform employs a hybrid Web2/Web3 design, aiming to combine familiar application usability with blockchain-based transparency and security.
Blockchain Infrastructure
8lends is deployed on the Base blockchain, an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution developed by Coinbase, chosen to enable public, transparent, and cost-efficient transaction verification. Operating on an L2 is intended to provide faster transaction throughput and lower fees versus the Ethereum mainnet.
For all investment activities, 8lends exclusively uses USDC (USD Coin). This stablecoin is pegged to the U.S. dollar and was selected for its stability, broad adoption, and regulatory posture, including compliance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union.
Investor Protection Mechanisms
8lends issues a native utility and marketing token called 8LNDS, which is deployed on the Base blockchain.
Utility and Reward System
8LNDS is used within the platform to reward participation and incentivize investors.
Early distribution methods mentioned by the project included a "time-limited retrodrop" and the ability for users to "farm tokens" through their investment activities.
Tokenomics
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