On-chain credit marketplace Clearpool and on-chain credit risk advisory and management company Cicada Partners have agreed to a collaboration that will see Cicada structure and underwrite payment financing ( PayFi ) lending opportunities for select borrowers, manage their credit pools through Clearpool’s port vaults, and serve as the administrative and monitoring agent on behalf of lenders.

Cicada provides risk-as-a-service solutions, including third-party underwriting, pool management for decentralized finance protocols, risk structuring, and advisory services tailored for institutional clients in the blockchain and real-world asset sectors.

Clearpool is expanding into PayFi, a rapidly growing credit vertical powering global stablecoin payments for fintechs across retail remittances, business-to-business cross-border payments, card processing, on/off-ramp services and more. The protocol has already facilitated over US$830 million in stablecoin credit, serving institutional borrowers, such as Jane Street, Wintermute and Flow Traders.

New offerings that Clearpool is launching include PayFi credit pools and cpUSD, a permissionless, yield-bearing asset designed to capture returns from the real-world capital demands of fintechs transacting billions in USDC and USDT. Because cpUSD’s yield is derived from real payment flows, not crypto speculation, it behaves more like traditional trade finance and is structurally uncorrelated with crypto market cycles.

This partnership, the companies argue, marks a significant step towards unlocking access to PayFi lending opportunities. With Cicada providing underwriting and active credit management, Clearpool’s ecosystem will offer DeFi users improved risk-adjusted yield opportunities, increased capital efficiency and broader exposure to real-world payment flows.

Together, Clearpool and Cicada are accelerating the adoption of PayFi, laying the groundwork for a more secure, transparent and scalable stablecoin economy.

“Partnering with Clearpool allows us to elevate PayFi lending by combining our underwriting and risk management expertise with their innovative credit products,” shares Sefton Kincaid, Cicada’s managing partner. “Together, we’re advancing professionally managed credit pools and strengthening Clearpool’s offering to borrowers and lenders in the growing stablecoin economy.”

Jakob Kronbichler, Clearpool’s CEO and co-founder, adds: “While stablecoin settlements are instant, underlying fiat flows are not, forcing fintechs to bridge liquidity gaps. By integrating Cicada’s risk management and structuring expertise, Clearpool is strengthening its institutional infrastructure for PayFi lending. This partnership enhances our proven credit framework and supports the growth of the emerging trillion-dollar stablecoin payment ecosystem.”