TechFlow News, June 22: According to Protos, Goldfinch—a decentralized lending protocol backed by a16z and originally targeting the unbanked population in Africa—is facing a severe crisis. On-chain data shows that out of the project’s eight borrowers, two have formally defaulted and six are undergoing debt restructuring, resulting in cumulative losses exceeding $18 million. Depositors lament, “$50 million down the drain.” Its native token GFI has plummeted from its January 2022 all-time high of $32.94 to below $0.07—a decline of 99.8%—and the project’s market capitalization has shrunk from a peak of $390 million to under $6 million.
Goldfinch previously extended over $100 million in loans to borrowers across 18 countries—including a Kenyan motorcycle rental company and a Nigerian salary-advance platform—but its core issue lies in the severe absence of off-chain credit assessment. Borrowers frequently misappropriated funds and refused repayment. As default rates surged, the project quietly abandoned its original focus on emerging African markets and pivoted toward institutional credit funds such as Ares and Apollo, rendering its original inclusive finance vision effectively defunct.
