If we were to summarize the strongest narrative in the crypto industry in 2025, stablecoins would definitely rank first. With a market capitalization exceeding $250 billion, they are beginning to be used for global cross-border payments and e-commerce settlements, and even regulation is becoming clearer. Stablecoins are no longer just 'digital dollars', but have truly entered the bloodstream of everyday finance.
In this context, @Huma Finance 🟣 emerges at an opportune moment. It is not engaging in traditional DeFi, but has proposed a new concept—PayFi (Payment Finance). In simple terms, it connects payment flows and credit flows, using stablecoins for real-time settlement, financing, and profit distribution.
Why PayFi?
When we used to think of the term 'payment', we often thought of Alipay, Stripe, or PayPal—after a transaction, funds would either get stuck in the clearing channel or take days to arrive. However, the PayFi approach is:
Payments are completed in real-time, with funds settled directly in stablecoins;
If you are a merchant, you can also get liquidity immediately, rather than waiting for accounts receivable to clear;
If you are a liquidity provider, what you earn is stable real returns, not those virtual mining rewards.
In other words, Huma Finance makes 'payments' no longer just about payments, but naturally incorporates financial functions: instant financing, composable liquidity, and seamless cross-border transactions.
Huma's approach
Huma launched version 2.0 in April 2025, moving its main battlefield to Solana. This decision is quite clever, as Solana does indeed lead in stablecoin payments: fast speeds, low fees, and an increasing number of institutions deploying stablecoin applications here.
Their core logic is roughly three layers:
Payment Financing
For example, an e-commerce merchant receiving an order can immediately settle using stablecoins through Huma, rather than waiting for traditional payment terms.RWA Tokenization
Assets like invoices and accounts receivable can be put on-chain, split, and then financed through the stablecoin market. This both increases liquidity and provides a real-world anchor for returns.Real Returns
Users providing liquidity in stablecoins like USDC can earn double-digit returns. Unlike the past where high APYs were 'sustained by subsidies', here it is driven by real payment financing demand.
By August 2025, Huma's total transaction volume has exceeded $5.7 billion, with active liquidity of $136 million and an annualized income of approximately $17 million. These figures indicate that it is not just a theoretical concept, but has already achieved a certain scale.
Why does it align with the narrative of stablecoins?
If 2025 is the 'Summer of Stablecoins', then Huma's positioning is especially fitting.
Cross-border payments: stablecoins themselves are powerful tools for reducing costs and speeding up settlements. Huma directly enters this scenario and even collaborates with Arf and Geoswift to provide same-day payments for global e-commerce.
Clear regulation: After the passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S., the willingness of institutions to adopt has greatly increased. Huma has also joined the Global Dollar Network (alongside Paxos, Galaxy HQ, etc.), making it appear more compliant and mainstream.
Integration of DeFi and RWA: Huma's $PST token can be traded on Jupiter and Kamino, indicating it is not an isolated system but is tightly connected with the DeFi ecosystem.
Simply put, what Huma is doing is transforming stablecoins from 'tools' into 'infrastructure'.
My opinion
The value of Huma Finance lies in its grasp of the real demand for stablecoins: payments and financing. In recent years, everyone's understanding of RWA has mostly been limited to 'putting U.S. Treasury bonds on-chain', but that has ultimately been an institutional play. Huma's path is more grounded; it addresses efficiency issues in merchant transactions, cross-border settlements, and everyday payments.
I tend to believe that Huma is on the right track. Compared to purely speculative narratives, PayFi at least gives stablecoins genuine practical scenarios. Plus, being on Solana allows it to enjoy the benefits of liquidity expansion across the entire ecosystem.
If 2020-2023 was DeFi Summer, then 2025 might truly be Stablecoin Summer. And in this wave, Huma Finance is likely to be remembered: it is not just a DeFi protocol, but the first platform to seriously treat 'payments' as a financial layer.
Perhaps in a few years when we look back, Huma will be one of the most representative projects in the PayFi narrative.
