In Brief
- Xend Finance’s decentralized credit unions and RWA tokenization address Africa’s financial exclusion and inflation challenges.
- The platform’s $RWA token enables secure, high-yield staking (up to 15% APY) and fractional ownership of global assets like real estate.
- Strategic partnerships with Binance, Google, and 5,000+ cooperatives position Xend as a leader in Africa’s DeFi and tokenized asset adoption.
Xend Finance has recently sent shockwaves throughout the ecosystem, emerging as a top DeFi initiative, constructing vital infrastructure to unlock financial freedom and global opportunities for Nigerians and Africa as a whole.
However, let’s dissect this Nigerian DeFi platform, highlighting its features and giving you a clue into who exactly Xend is and what it really stands for.
Core Services Powering the Vision
Decentralized Credit Unions: Bridging Financial Gaps
Founded back in 2019 by Aronu Ugochukwu and Abafor Chima, Xend’s genesis is rooted in addressing the continent’s specific issues: rampant inflation (averaging 18.5% across the continent) and the exclusion of vast populations from formal banking (over 66% in Sub-Saharan Africa).
Its mission is simple: combat the currency devaluation and financial exclusion in Africa. Since its debut, the firm has garnered quite an audience.
Backed by global heavyweights like Binance Labs, Google Launchpad, NGC ventures, HashKey, and AU21 Capital, Xend leverages the accessibility of blockchain to empower individuals, cooperatives, and credit unions with tools traditionally reserved for the few.
One of the firm’s impactful features is its decentralized credit unions.
This feature enables groups to pool resources and save collectively, transcending geographical barriers.
Smart contracts automate operations, reducing default risks and offering decentralized insurance. This also enhances trust within these communities, modernizing a deeply rooted financial space.
Blockchain Savings and Staking: High-Yield Opportunities
Another vital feature for the Nigerian DeFi firms is its accessible entry point.
Xend enables users to convert fiat currencies(like Naira, Cedis, or Shillings) into stablecoins (DAI, BUSD, USDC) directly within the platform.
This offers a blockchain savings and staking model, a lifeline for Africans navigating high inflation rates like the naira’s 18.5% annual inflation.
In 2021, the platform launched a cross-yield aggregator that scans multiple blockchains(e.g., Binance Smart Chain, Polygon).
This enables users to earn higher returns, up to 15% APY, accessing the stablecoin high yield potential of global Defi.
Unlocking Real Value: Real-World Asset Tokenization
Its most ambitious evolution is its pivot toward Real-world asset tokenization. The firm recognized the vast potential Africa has with RWA deploying its EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain Asset chain.
The core aim is to legally tokenize tangible and intangible assets like real estate stocks and even luxury goods.
This initiative also aligns with the firm’s aims to establish the first Onchain Asset environment framework.
Xend’s Asset Chain enables secure tokenization of real estate and stocks, lowering barriers for Africans to invest globally with as little as $5.[Photo: Medium]
Tokenized real estate investments, facilitated by Asset Chain, represent a particularly transformative application, democratizing access to a historically illiquid asset class.
The first also transitioned its native token from $XEND to $RWA in January 2024.
The token is used in staking rewards, purchasing protocol insurance, governance, and facilitating transactions within the Asset Chain environment
A Deeply Rooted African Presence with Global Ambitions
Xend has forged numerous strategic alliances over the years, greatly boosting its impact.
As highlighted recently, the firm partnered with Risevest to launch tokenized real estate investment services.
This initiative enables Africans to invest as little as $5-$10 in fractional shares of global real estate and U.S. stocks using stablecoins(USDT, USDC, cNGN).
Xend Finance leverages decentralized credit unions and high-yield staking to combat inflation and drive financial inclusion across Nigeria and Africa.[Photo: Medium]
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Partnerships with TechFusuion, a SaaS provider for cooperatives, expanded its decentralized credit unions to vital community-based financial groups. In addition, the Dafi Protocol assisted the firms in creating a more sustainable staking reward model resilient against hyperinflation.
The collaboration significantly impacted its reach, with TechFusion bringing in its 5,000 members and BlockBank’s 45,000 users.
Milestones and User Growth: A Testament to Trust
Since its inception, the firm has achieved various accolades over the years.
By 2022, Xend had over 100,000 users, a number that doubled by 2025, driven by a user-friendly app and competitive yields.
Its migration to $RWA showcased the firm pivot towards Real-world assets, greatly benefiting its liquidity by pulling from Uniswap and PancakeSwap.
Its native token is listed on Crypto.com’s DeFi wallet on Arbitrum.
In addition, leveraging Nigeria’s regulated stablecoin and Asset Chain capabilities led to the development of simplified, automated, and secure P2P crypto-fiat transactions.
This feature is highly sought after, given Nigeria’s growing crypto community.
Aside from growth, Xend also prioritized security by undergoing a CertiK audit in 2021 and partnered with Tidal Finance for insurance.
These measures greatly cushioned it from the globe-spanning mistrust of the post-FTX fiasco.
Its forward-thinking on bolstering user confidence has made this platform a go-to option for novices and veterans.
In April 2025, the firms secured $1.5 funding, showcasing how the organization continues to build investor confidence with its growing potential.
Xend Finance: More Than a Platform, A Pathway
Xend Finance has become a towering example of how Africa can innovate within the Web3 sector.
It goes beyond offering crypto exposure and provides practical tools for savings growth, access to global investments via tokenization, and the modernization of deeply ingrained financial practices.
Pivoting towards RWAs also signals its commitment to solving real economic problems with blockchain innovation.
With its stablecoin high-yield strategy and secure crypto-fiat transaction API, Xend is actively building Africa’s bridge to a more inclusive and globally connected financial future.
As the Asset Chain matures and tokenization gains traction, Xend stands poised to redefine asset ownership and investment access for millions.
