Australia P2P lender Marketlend releases stablecoin for tokenised debt trading
Marketlend is using blockchain to put market loans into a marketplace.
Marketlend, an Australian peer-to-peer business loan provider that's partnered with Polymath, has released a blockchain stablecoin cryptocurrency called Black, which is designed for use on the Marketlend platform.
It's a collateralised stablecoin, backed up with money in the bank and worth AUD$1 each. This stablecoin can then be used to buy security tokens representing debt on the Marketlend platform, which can be traded on Marketlend's loan exchange or other security token exchanges, according to AFR.
What and why
Marketlend lets small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in need of loans put up listings. Eligible investors can then peruse those listings and lend money to the businesses they think will deliver returns.
The stablecoin is intended to bring a cascading set of improvements to the system, says Marketlend CEO and founder Leo Tyndall.
"This will formalise recordings on the blockchain ledger, improving the security and efficiency of transactions," he said. "The unveiling of Black is the result of many months of research and testing and we believe this will drive greater speed, efficiency and security across the Marketlend platform and its global recognition."
How and when
It intends to deliver these improvements by removing frictions and presenting additional options for investors (the lenders), which should either drive up returns for investors, drive down costs for borrowers or both.
The way it appears to work is that investors deposit money in a trustee bank account, and Black stablecoins are minted based on those deposits. These Black stablecoins can then be used to trade the tokenised debt of Marketlend borrowers.
"Black can then be used to buy a 'security token', a digital representation of their interest in the loan, which can then be traded on Marketlend's loan exchange, or other security token exchanges. The idea is that this provides investors with an exit option, which should ultimately reduce the cost of credit," AFR says.
This system is being launched as a trial this week, seeing 26 investors on the platform get a digital wallet for their digital currency.
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Disclosure: The author holds BNB and BTC at the time of writing.
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