BlockBeats News, June 22nd. The Africa market expansion plan of the crypto lending project Goldfinch, supported by a16z, suffered a major setback as multiple loans defaulted or were restructured. The project's native token GFI plummeted by approximately 99.8% from its all-time high, with the market cap shrinking from a peak of around $390 million to less than $6 million.

According to disclosures from project contributors and some depositors, out of approximately 8 borrowers in Goldfinch's lending portfolio, 2 have entered default status, while the remaining 6 are in the restructuring phase, with the total loss and impairment amounting to tens of millions of dollars. One user mentioned that their invested funds are "essentially lost."

Goldfinch, launched in 2021, positioned itself as a decentralized credit protocol targeting Africa and emerging markets, and had received investments from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, and other institutions. The early cumulative lending volume of the project once exceeded $100 million, covering financial and consumer enterprises in multiple countries.

However, as the underlying credit performance deteriorated, multiple loans started to default, including cases such as Kenya's motorcycle finance company Tugende Kenya and Southeast Asia borrower Lend East, with some fund recovery rates significantly below expectations. The total non-performing and impairment scale has exceeded $18 million.

With the rising risk, liquidity providers began to withdraw from the pool, and the GFI token has been on a continuous decline since 2022, facing further pressure as market sentiment turned cold.

Subsequently, the project team gradually adjusted its strategy, shifting from the narrative of "serving the unbanked in Africa" to a more institutional credit market-oriented approach, including cooperation directions with traditional credit institutions such as Ares and Apollo.

Goldfinch's failure has once again raised doubts in the industry about the "crypto + emerging market financial inclusion" model. Previously, several similar attempts, including Akon's Africa crypto city and Cardano's education project in Ethiopia, have not achieved the expected scale or have already downsized.