Who should invest in P2P lending?

📈 The European P2P lending market reached €3.2 billion in 2025, and some estimates suggest it could grow to $30.54 billion by 2032.

But not everyone fully understands what it is and how it works. And the truth is P2P lending isn’t for everyone.

🙄 Who won’t like P2P lending?

Those who are used to crypto volatility. If one has been trading altcoins, memecoins, or Bitcoin for a long time, the pace of P2P lending will likely feel too slow.

P2P lending isn't about getting rich in one bull cycle. You won’t make $20 while waiting for your coffee, but you also won’t lose everything in an hour.

P2P lending is a source of passive income. People come here for steady, reliable returns in the first place. If you invest in P2P lending, you don't wait for quick results; you build capital slowly but surely.

🤩 Who would like P2P lending?

People who are tired of uncertainty, panic, and constant volatility. If patience is your middle name, and you don't rush things to see results here and now, this market is a great fit for you.

🥇 Most platforms here offer 6-12% APR, while we're operating in the 18–25% range on average. Why? Because we're a Web3 platform, which helps us to cut middlemen and a lot of steps that require extra commissions and fees.

🥇 We pay monthly. That means you can reinvest regularly and compound your returns in USDC and $8LNDS.

P2P lending offers something most markets don’t — structure and protection.

🔘 Every loan is backed by real collateral
🔘 Every transaction is recorded on-chain
🔘 The process is legally secured

To sum up, P2P lending is slower, but much more secure, and the probability of losing money here is much, much lower than it is in crypto or stocks.

So, the choice is up to you:

❤️ — P2P lending only
🔥 — Crypto and stocks
👍 — Diversification across both options

Do you follow 8lends on X? 🤩

If you're still not, you know what to do:

✖ x.com/eightlends

🔈 The List of Spaces This Week

This post includes all key info about the Spaces/AMAs we’ve prepared for you. If you missed something or need a link to join, just come back to this post.

1. Space with WOLF Financial

Should Crypto Become Boring to Grow Up?

🔘 March 24 at 6 PM CET
🔘 Link: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1RJjpzOpWBQKw

RWA and tokenization might be the next step for crypto to finally mature into a serious asset class.

Right now, the market is flooded with memecoins and empty altcoins.

2. Panel discussion with 4AI

From Prompt to Profit: Monetizing Intelligence On-Chain + RWAs

🔘 Date: March 27 at 12 PM UTC
🔘 Link: Will be added later

We’ll cover the hottest topics of the year: AI, RWA, and DeFi.

Will AI change how people interact with RWAs and DeFi, or not?

Got something to say? Join us 😉

South Korea Market Review 🇰🇷

Many investors look for opportunities in the USA, China, UAE, or Brazil. But one particular market often gets overlooked — South Korea.

In this post, we'll break it down and see if this region is worth investing in.

🔘 Economic growth

Major institutions expect steady growth in 2026. The Bank of Korea forecasts ~2.0% GDP growth, while Citi is more optimistic at 2.4%, citing stronger-than-expected semiconductor exports. The country is also expected to maintain a large current account surplus (~$170B), supported by exports.

🔘 Strong credit rating (Aa2)

Moody’s rates South Korea at Aa2, which is their third-highest, following Aaa and Aa1. South Korea has held this rating since 2015. As Moody's stated, "This rating reflects South Korea's very high level of economic diversification and competitiveness, as well as its continued capacity to manage key challenges."

🔘 Shipbuilding surge

Korean shipbuilders are entering a strong cycle, with profits up ~45%. Major players like HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean are expected to reach operating margins in the low-to-mid 10% range.

🔘 Record foreign investment (FDI)

In 2025, the FDI attracted reached a record high of $36.05 billion, a 4.3% increase from the previous year. But this year might not be as good as the previous one due to major countries' growing protectionism and the spread of manufacturing-focused industrial policies. Overall inflows remain strong.

To sum up, the market has got potential and is only growing every year. As for us, the market seems promising — that's why we gave it a try and listed one business from South Korea.

If you believe in this market too, feel free to invest 👇

app.8lends.io/en/project/316

Hot Seat: Your Chance to Torture 8lends With Questions 😈

🎁 You give us a stress test, and we give you 50 USDC.

Sounds like a fair deal, right? But we're not that generous, and you’ll be part of the show too. So we’ll ask you some tough questions as well.

Here's what this show will look like:

🔘 We start by asking you 3-4 questions — your turn to answer.

🔘 Then you take over and ask us anything. Our job is the same — answer honestly.

🔘 The show continues until we (you and 8lends) run out of questions.

🤩 Important: The goal of the show isn't to insult one of the participants; we only ask you questions about trading and investing, and you ask us questions about investments, businesses, collateral, audits, etc. We won't ask you any personal questions about your private life. We don't cross this line.

The idea of the show is to have honest communication between you and our platform.

✨ Participants: 1-2 investors will join the show. If there are 2 participants on the show, they don't have to work as a team; they might disagree with each other and ask their own questions to the 8lends speakers.

Duration: 30-40 minutes, which is enough to keep it hot and engaging.

If you want to put 8lends under pressure and earn 50 USDC, apply here 🤩

GOOGLE FORM

8lends Owns Nothing.

We’re not a bank.
We don’t hold investors’ funds.
We don’t issue loans from our own balance.
We don’t store collateral in our own accounts.

🤩 We’re the connection layer.

Investors’ money moves directly to a borrower. 8lends’ role is to build a simple and clear structure, audit a borrower, secure collateral and terms, and control the execution of those terms.

✅ The smart contract enforces the inviolability of a process.

The logic is written into the code, executes automatically, and it can’t be changed once deployed. This keeps everything transparent and allows investors and borrowers to see all transactions made inside the platform on the Base blockchain.

Moreover, our smart contracts are audited by CertiK and Cyberscope. We’re doing everything we can to keep the process as transparent and secure as possible.

🗯️ What do we want to say?

Our main message is that 8lends earns money only when the whole loan is closed successfully.

🤩 So we’re not looking from the sidelines — we’re on the same side as you.

❗️ Stay Safe from Scams on Telegram ❗️

Online scams have become an inevitable part of the internet. That’s why we want to keep our community informed and protected.

In this video, we’ve covered the key things everyone should know to keep their funds safe.

Key rules to remember 👇

🔘 We will never message or call you first. If someone claims to be support and contacts you out of the blue — it’s a scam.

🔘 Always verify anyone you communicate with. If someone reaches out, don’t hesitate to ask for proof.

Our only official supports:

✨ @daniel_8lends
✨ @ceviz1389
✨ @henry_8lends

youtu.be/LxoB-ldR-Jo

🔈 Spaces of the Week

In this post, we’ve gathered all the sessions where we’ll either host or join as a guest.

This week, we’ll be part of 4 discussions:

🔘 01.04.26 at 12 PM UTC with uquidcard, ClusterProtocol, and GPT360_Official

Topic: RWA in 2025: Who Wins the Race — Banks, DeFi, or New Hybrid Models?

Role: Host

Link: x.com/i/spaces/1YxNrZQNWAOxw?s=20

🔘 01.04.26 at 15 PM UTC with useTria

Topic: How To Win in Volatile Markets

Role: Guest

Link: Will be shared later on the host’s X account

🔘 02.04.26 at 13 PM UTC with edgeX_exchange, OrderlyNetwork, FolksFinance, and QuickswapDEX

Topic: The New DeFi Stack: Liquidity, Execution & Sustainable Yield in 2026

Role: Host

Link: x.com/i/spaces/1AJEmOonPZbJL?s=20

🔘 03.04.26 at 15 PM UTC with edeldotfinance

Topic: RWAs Are Bringing Real Money On-Chain

Role: Guest

Link: Will be shared later on the host’s X account

Save this post and come back whenever you feel like joining the discussions.

We’ll be glad to see you at any of them.

See you there! 😉

ALL-TIME HIGH: $10,000,000 FUNDED ON 8LENDS 🤩

We believe our platform isn’t just about investments and returns; it’s a bridge designed to move people from the past to the future.

8lends connects people with different needs:

🔘 One group is tired of volatility and wants to build a stable source of income,
🔘 Another group needs funding to scale businesses that serve people worldwide.

On the surface, it’s just an investment platform. But if you look deeper, you’ll see potential that most are unable to see clearly.

2026 is a year of expansion for both us and you. Thank you for staying with us. We keep making the platform better and your experience smoother.

🌉 See you on the other side!

🤩 The Time Capsule for 8lends in 2025

We’ve created and sealed this time capsule today. It will be opened on December 31. You can follow and receive the notification by email once it's opened.

🤩 The Time Capsule

We’ll see if we managed to live up to your expectations.

If you want to be part of this time capsule and see your message (without your name or any personal information) when it’s opened, feel free to leave it in the form below:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4Cw-ji8x4xGWVRfhSQTN_EtSlks8IRlBiW1zjr1r5m_i_mg/viewform?usp=dialog

13 months of 8lends! 🤩

It's been a month since our birthday, and we've already hit the ATH in total funded!

Let's keep it up and take a look at what we've achieved over the last two months:

🔘 Raised this month: $1,704,251
🔘 Total investors: 1655
🔘 Funded loans: $10,175,037
🔘 Loans repaid: $2,832,834

Last year, we built our foundation.

This year, we're planning to build on it. Any suggestions on what's coming in 2026? 😉

🔈 This Week in Spaces

This is your weekly schedule of all the live sessions we’ll be hosting or joining as guests.

Here’s what’s coming up:

🔘 07.04.26 at 13 UTC with integra_layer

Topic: Real Assets, Real Yield: Is It Possible to Invest In Real Estate On-Chain?

Role: Host

Link: x.com/i/spaces/1AxRnambErYxl?s=20

🎁 25 USDC for the two best comments during this Space.

🔘

08.04.26 at 13 UTC with

HoudiniSwap,

OrderlyNetwork,

and

crosscurvefi

Topic

: The Future of Unified DeFi: Liquidity, Routing, Privacy & Capital Efficiency

Role

: Host

Link

: x.com/i/spaces/1aKbdbBqogXJX?s=20

🔘

09.04.26 at 13 UTC with

CryptoRubic,

symbiosis_fi,

and

chimpxai

Topic

: From Cross-Chain Access to Capital Efficiency: What DeFi Still Needs in 2026

Role

: Host

Link

: x.com/i/spaces/1qKDzPOLYZVJV?s=20

Bookmark this post and try to join at least one session!

We’d love to hear your feedback and answer your questions during the Spaces.

See you there! 🫶

Why Do Funds Enter P2P Lending?

Before answering that, let’s look at the situation from the sidelines — the way funds see it.

Slowly but surely, SMEs are moving from banks to lending platforms. Despite being the oldest financial institutions, banks are losing ground as businesses look for faster, more accessible funding.

Why do they choose P2P lending?

Lower operational and administrative costs allow P2P platforms to offer:

🔘 Competitive interest rates
🔘 Faster loan approvals
🔘 Easier access to capital for businesses that may not qualify for bank financing

Funds see this change clearly, and they know what's coming. That's why they invest in this market:

🔘 Carlyle Group & Citigroup

Carlyle has partnered with Citigroup to provide asset-backed financing to fintech lenders. As head of asset-backed finance at Carlyle, Akhil Bansal noted:

"Demand for scalable and tailored asset-backed financing solutions from fintech lenders has increased as they mature and seek efficient ways to fund their growth."

🔘 Citigroup & Apollo Global

Citigroup has also partnered with Apollo Global Management on a $25B private credit and direct lending program. As global head of private credit at Moody's Ratings, Ana Arsov said:

"The partnership is yet another example of the rapid growth of Private Credit into mainstream finance."

🔘 Fortress Investment Group & Prosper Marketplace

Prosper Marketplace, one of the first P2P platforms in the U.S., signed a $500M forward flow agreement with Fortress Investment Group.

Under this agreement, institutional buyers commit to purchasing a portion of loans originated on the platform.

P2P lending is a strong alternative in volatile markets. The market size has already hit $176.50 billion in 2025 and is projected to increase from $222.90 billion in 2026 to approximately $1,602.5 billion by 2035.

Funds allocate capital here because it offers:

🔘 Real collateral
🔘 Transparency
🔘 Predictable cash flow

When institutional money enters a market, you know there's a clear reason behind it. They're not interested in gambling and risking their money.

You, as retail, can start investing in real businesses with as little as 100 USDC, and this market won't let you down.