Clearpool Partners with Cicada to Institutionalize PayFi Lending with Risk-Managed Credit Pools

Clearpool, an onchain credit marketplace, has announced a strategic partnership with Cicada Partners, an onchain credit risk advisory and management company. As part of the collaboration, Cicada will structure and underwrite 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.

Advancing Institutional PayFi Lending

Cicada is an on-chain credit risk management company founded by a seasoned team of former buy- and sell-side credit professionals. Cicada’s co-founders have deep crypto lending expertise, having underwritten >$850m in loans at a 1.2% default rate during the prior cycle. Created following the collapse of FTX, Cicada facilitates the growth of institutional lending on public blockchains by enabling lenders to participate in risk-managed non-custodial lending products. 

Cicada provides Risk-as-a-Service (RaaS) solutions including third-party underwriting, pool management for DeFi protocols, risk structuring, and offering advisory services tailored for institutional clients in the blockchain and RWA sectors.

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

Payment Financing for the Stablecoin Economy

Clearpool is expanding into Payment Financing (PayFi), a rapidly growing credit vertical powering global stablecoin payments for leading fintechs across retail remittances, B2B 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 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.

“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,” said Jakob Kronbichler, CEO & Co-founder of Clearpool.

Unlocking Secure Yield and Institutional Access

This partnership marks a significant step toward unlocking access to PayFi lending opportunities. With Cicada providing professional 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.