Huma Finance is developing infrastructure for crypto-forward companies to enable real-world DeFi services. See how they are using USDC for global financing.
Huma Finance is the leading on-chain private credit ecosystem, where real world businesses bring their high-performing receivables to connect with global capital.
Despite interest in harnessing the benefits of blockchain technology, many companies, including fintechs around the world, lack the resources to build blockchain compatible solutions. Everyday businesses often lack access to crypto assets, and bringing cash flow driven financing markets onto blockchain is technically complicated.
Huma Finance aims to address these issues by providing infrastructure for fintechs and other on-chain lending protocols to enable global lending solutions.
We’re building an ecosystem where financing opportunities are within reach for businesses, helping form the foundation for a network of real-world lending solutions. Huma provides services for a diverse set of partners, including on-chain remittance financing, supply chain financing, inventory financing, green financing, and other credit ecosystems that narrow traditional financing gaps and provide greater economic opportunity around the world.
Huma Finance Founding Story
It was May 2014. I was one of the mentors at the Thiel Fellowship program when a riveting pitch about ‘The Android of decentralized applications called Ethereum’ landed in my inbox from a kid I’ve never heard of before, Vitalik Buterin. His vision was bold and clear; Vitalik wanted to rebuild the internet from scratch, with decentralization and programmable money at the center of it. It was hard not to be impressed by his vision, but I thought the plan lacked the key elements of scale – accessibility, affordability, and efficiency.
A few years later, I spoke with Circle executives while I was leading a top-notch fintech team at EarnIn, and was all too familiar with the limitations of financial infrastructures and services. Stablecoins were clearly one of the best applications of blockchain and could have a massive impact globally, delivering better and cheaper financial services 24/7, especially to those most in need. I mentioned this conversation to a few of my brightest colleagues, and the idea for Huma Finance was born!
While our initial thoughts centered around crafting decentralized financial solutions for the blockchain-savvy, similar to the initial pitch about Ethereum, that did not satisfy the key elements of scale. To truly revolutionize credit ecosystems worldwide, we needed to engineer a powerful platform, enabling fintechs to put superior solutions into action without the intricate knowledge of blockchains. The ease of use would democratize the benefits of blockchain and make it available to anyone.
Months of perseverance culminated in the debut of Huma as a pioneering credit platform where high-performing receivables, tokenized on-chain, meet with global capital. During our beta launch at ETHDenver 2023, more than 20 applications were built on the platform, and the surging demand for our solutions since then tells us we’re on the right path.
Being at the infrastructure layer of such a critical service puts a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. We need to have the highest standards of fairness, transparency, and auditability to ensure more businesses and people can access secure, trustworthy and affordable financial services daily a key reason we decided to work alongside Circle to bring our mission to life.
The benefits of working with Circle and USDC
While many platforms integrate with USDC, it's how we leverage its strengths that sets Huma apart. With USDC, our partners can trust in the stability and accuracy of transactions. This isn't just about using a stablecoin; it's about ensuring that every party involved – whether lending or borrowing – can do so with absolute confidence.
USDC offers a sound measure of value, crucial in receivables-backed financing models. The stability and security of USDC help ensure the valuation of the collateral remains consistent, allowing for predictable and secure transactions.
The established USDC ecosystem makes it a comfortable choice for both lenders and borrowers, offering a familiar on- and off-ramp for transactions.
A trusted digital dollar is essential for lending activity in a digital economy. Huma, as a leading on-chain credit ecosystem, has adopted a conservative, strategic approach that only uses stablecoins that operate under the highest standard. Huma has full trust in USDC because of the simplicity of the reserve model (always redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars), third-party attestations, transparency, utility and mutual respect with the Circle team.
Huma x USDC in action
To me, these aren't just partnerships. They're testimonies to what Huma and USDC bring to the table – a unique amalgamation of technical prowess and a deep understanding of real-world challenges.
Huma Partner Spotlight: Jia.xyz
Jia.xyz and Huma Finance partnered to offer blockchain-enabled lending services to small businesses in emerging markets through the use of USDC. This collaboration aims to broaden financial opportunities by building on Huma’s infrastructure to reduce the cost of service and foster a more equitable economic landscape. Remarkably, Jia's integration was swift — fully operational within weeks. They secured the needed liquidity on-chain in a matter of days, and have been on an upward trajectory since.
Because Jia uses USDC on the Huma platform, their customers get greater transparency into contributions to lending pools, distributions, payments, interest disbursements and more. Furthermore, the partnership exemplifies the potential of leveraging technological advancements in reshaping financial systems. The combination of Huma's blockchain technology and Jia's innovative lending solutions offers enhanced access to capital for diverse businesses, from medical establishments to local school supplies and food vendors. By doing so, they are not only facilitating business growth, but also contributing to the economic development of these communities.
Huma Partner Spotlight: Arf.one*
Cross-border payments, despite their centrality to global finance and the livelihood of immigrant families, continue to be an expensive and painful experience. Remittance companies trying to innovate and build a more affordable solution face a plethora of challenges, such as the necessity for managing numerous pre-funded accounts around the world for timely settlement. This has resulted in trillions of dollars held in pre-funded accounts, representing a significant overhead for the global payments industry that operates on thin margins. To completely remove the need for prefunding accounts, and deliver capital instantly across the world, Arf partnered with Huma Finance, and introduced an on-chain liquidity solution for cross-border payments.
Arf's approach provides on-demand USDC-based working capital loans to financial institutions facilitating these remittances. Moving away from the archaic pre-funding approach, this model uses real-time USDC settlements for cross-border transactions. By utilizing Huma's infrastructure, Arf enhances transaction speed and volume, simultaneously promoting transparency in the sector.
This is achieved by tokenizing cross-border payment orders through Huma, which then serves as collateral to borrow against. Consequently, every transaction, including loans, repayments, and receivables, is trackable on the blockchain. These records incorporate auditable financial details in a privacy preserving manner that can be verified by global audit firms, providing a level of insight that did not exist before.
*Circle Ventures, an affiliate of Circle Internet Financial, LLC, has invested in Arf
Looking Ahead
Huma's horizon is ever expanding. With plans to tokenize more types of receivables in sectors like green financing, credit cards, cross-border settlements, invoice financing, royalty payments, and others, we are aiming to improve the accessibility, affordability, and efficiency of financial services.
Our growing ecosystem is taking a critical role in delivering these solutions collectivelyacross the globe, while innovating on every aspect of service quality.
If you are building innovative credit solutions, and seek a partner with deep expertise in multiple domains, please reach out. Together, we can create a financial landscape where opportunities are increasingly accessible to all.
Huma Finance is a Circle Ventures portfolio company. Circle Ventures, an affiliate of Circle Internet Financial, LLC, has invested in Huma Finance.
