Pencil Finance Completes $1M Onchain Student Loan Cycle in Southeast Asia

Pencil Finance has achieved a significant milestone in its mission to provide financial inclusion to underserved students in Southeast Asia. The company completed a $1 million onchain student loan cycle, offering financing to approximately 6,600 students across 118 schools and universities.

The loans were designed for students who are often overlooked by traditional lenders, with 50% of borrowers being female and 93% coming from lower-income households. Pencil Finance claims that this is the first fully onchain lending cycle for student loans, transparently recorded on the blockchain network.

The bundle was funded in July 2025 by Animoca Brands, Open Campus, and New Campus, structured as a senior tranche with fixed returns and a junior tranche with variable returns and first-loss risk. This innovative approach to lending is part of the growing trend of tokenized real-world assets being used to issue or collateralize loans.