CoinShares introduced the term Hybrid Finance in its recently released 2026 Outlook report to describe the growing convergence between traditional financial institutions and public blockchain infrastructure. Tala’s tokenized lending platform, developed in partnership with Huma Finance and built on Solana, represents one of the clearest examples of this trend. The initiative aims to address long-standing challenges in global lending markets by connecting blockchain liquidity with consumers who lack access to traditional credit systems.
“Solana’s vision for internet capital markets is to make finance accessible globally and at scale. Tala’s decision to bring its credit and payments products to Solana shows how onchain markets can expand access to financial services in emerging markets.” - Maya Caddle, Payments Lead, Solana Foundation.
Tala Deploys New Tokenized Lending Model
Tala, a financial infrastructure company, announced the launch of a scalable tokenized lending platform designed for the global underbanked. The company plans to deploy a $50 million credit facility in $USDC to support a permissionless lending system that operates on blockchain infrastructure. The partnership with Huma Finance and the use of Solana’s network provides the technical foundation for real-time transactions, transparent loan structures, and an accessible borrowing environment.
Tala serves nearly 13 million customers across multiple emerging markets. This existing footprint provides immediate scale for the lending platform, enabling millions of users to interact with onchain financial services through everyday credit activity. For borrowers with limited formal credit histories, tokenized lending offers alternative ways to access funds, build portable digital reputations, and participate in the global economy.
"After a decade operating across multiple emerging markets, we know how to translate frontier technologies into real-world financial power. By pairing Tala’s trusted platform with the power of blockchain technology, together with Huma and Solana, we can expand financial access, eliminate systemic inefficiencies, and help millions become active participants in the global digital economy.” - Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO, Tala.
Leveraging Data and Liquidity
The system uses Tala’s proprietary credit engine, trained on $7 billion in lending performance data from operations across several continents. Much of this dataset sits outside the visibility of banks and standard AI systems. Tala uses this information to evaluate borrowers who have historically been excluded from the traditional financial system.
The platform tokenizes loans within an overcollateralized facility and connects them to Huma Finance’s liquidity pools. This structure creates a direct channel between global capital and high-demand lending markets, improving efficiency and transparency. Huma Finance provides a compliant and programmable onchain payments infrastructure that supports disbursement, repayment, risk controls, and real-time portfolio monitoring.
“Tala’s team has over a decade of experience in scaling high-performance lending programs while providing financial access to tens of millions of people that need it the most. Unlike past attempts in the industry, this partnership sets a new standard for overcollateralized, data-driven, fully digital, tokenized lending that is liquid from day one. Together we are delivering on the promise of crypto – an open and efficient global financial system for all.” - Erbil Karaman, Co-Founder of Huma Finance.
The launch introduces new opportunities for liquidity providers. Tokenized lending creates real world asset exposure backed by repayment behavior that is verifiable onchain. Providers can fractionalize risk, sell tokens tied to future cash flows, and automate operational processes through smart contracts.
For consumers, the platform offers faster loan disbursement, better access to capital, and a path toward establishing a digital financial identity. Moving lending and repayment processes onchain also reduces costs and increases transparency for all participants.
Broader Context
Huma Finance continues to expand its global payment and credit infrastructure through partnerships and pilot programs. At Circle Forum Singapore, Huma and Arf announced their integration with the Circle Payments Network (CPN) to deliver credit solutions to eligible institutions. Arf, which provides same-day $USDC settlement liquidity through Huma’s PayFi network, joined CPN as a service provider to help improve credit access for enterprises using the network.
Huma has previously outlined plans for a pilot with Visa to support real-time merchant settlements. This initiative aims to replace settlement processes that can take up to a month. The company’s development roadmap builds on its migration to Solana and a $38 million funding round that supported its PayFi expansion.
In August 2025, Huma partnered with Arf, Geoswift, and PolyFlow to introduce a settlement solution that enables same-day payouts for merchants on major global e-commerce platforms. The project focuses on sellers in Asia who often face delays due to mismatches between payment timings and local banking hours.
Tala plans to originate more than $2 billion in tokenized lending in 2026. The company also intends to expand its onchain lending model to additional networks, increasing its global reach. As ‘Hybrid Finance’ continues to take shape, Tala’s collaboration with Huma Finance suggests a significant shift in how credit can be delivered, accessed, and scaled across emerging markets.
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