Animoca’s Yat Siu says student loans can supercharge DeFi growth

Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands, believes onboarding student loans onto the blockchain could dramatically expand the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Speaking at Consensus 2025, Siu highlighted the untapped potential of the $3 trillion global student loan market. He argued that migrating even a fraction (10%) of this market to blockchain-based systems could more than quadruple the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, demonstrating the industry’s early-stage growth trajectory.

Siu emphasized the potential for Web3-based financial tools in education to drive mainstream crypto adoption, particularly among younger, unbanked populations. He posited that students receiving and repaying loans onchain – a process he described as regulated, efficient, and cost-effective – would foster lifelong crypto engagement, mirroring the success of platforms like PayPal and Venmo in reaching underserved markets. Student loans, he suggested, could serve as a crucial on-ramp for broader crypto adoption.

Animoca Brands’ investment in Pencil Finance, a startup offering blockchain-backed student loans in the Philippines and Indonesia with plans for US expansion, exemplifies this strategy. Pencil Finance recently announced a $10 million initiative to provide more affordable student loan financing. Siu previously advocated for “positive-sum use cases” – applications readily understood and beneficial to all participants – to increase crypto adoption, suggesting crypto loans could foster greater student pro-crypto sentiment.

Siu further argued that education is a natural fit for Web3 applications. He cited YouTube and TikTok, initially viewed primarily as entertainment platforms, as examples of how informal learning has become integral to these social media giants. He suggested Web3 could replicate this by integrating financial infrastructure into educational experiences, transforming learning communities and reputational networks into capital assets, creating the foundation for a novel, decentralized financial ecosystem.