Cross River and Offchain have partnered to integrate tokenisation into Cross River’s lending platform using Arbitrum One.
The solution, developed with Offchain Enterprise Services, is designed so that loans originated through the Cross River platform can be tokenised from the moment they are created. Offchain, the developer of Arbitrum, describes itself as building the foundation for the programmable economy. The two companies have completed a proof of concept for loan tokenisation and are now working towards a production deployment, targeted for early 2027.
Moving tokenisation to the start of the asset lifecycle
Most tokenisation efforts in lending begin after the asset already exists. Loans are originated, serviced, and distributed through conventional infrastructure before being moved onto blockchain-based systems. The Cross River approach reverses this sequence. Assets can be funded, held, and transferred on Arbitrum One from origination, with ownership, funding, payment, and servicing activity kept on a single shared record throughout the asset’s lifecycle rather than passing between multiple systems each time it changes hands.
For borrowers, the process is intended to remain the same. Applications, funding, and repayments continue through existing customer-facing channels, with Offchain’s ZeroDev wallet infrastructure embedded underneath. The change sits at the asset level: once originated, a loan can be funded, owned, transferred, and serviced digitally within a capital markets framework.
According to Gilles Gade, founder and CEO of Cross River, starting at origination means one record and fewer steps, from funding through every subsequent transfer of ownership.
Implications for funding and distribution
Beyond operational efficiency, the companies present native tokenisation as a way to support funding and distribution models that are difficult to run efficiently through traditional processes. These include continuous forward-flow purchase programmes, more flexible commitment sizes, and new approaches to packaging and delivering credit to investors. Tokenised assets are also intended to give access to additional pools of capital, including onchain funds and international investors.
As the capability is built into the Cross River platform, fintechs and lending partners can use these features without changing how they originate loans or serve borrowers. The partners position this as a foundation for credit products that operate more continuously and programmatically.
Regulated origination on blockchain rails
Cross River remains the regulated bank and lender of record for assets originated through its platform. The companies state that tokenisation does not change the underwriting, risk management, or compliance standards applied to these assets; it changes only how they can be funded, owned, and distributed once created. In their view, this combination of bank-led origination and tokenisation from inception is what separates the initiative from projects that adapt existing assets for onchain distribution.
Steven Goldfeder, CEO and co-founder of Offchain, noted that financial institutions need infrastructure they can shape around their business, adding that the service brings the engineers building the underlying technology directly into product design, allowing institutions to create new financial products while retaining control over how those products operate and grow.
