Decentralized finance (DeFi) has long promised to open doors to financial services for everyone, but the reality has shown that most protocols are primarily designed for those who already possess large amounts of cryptocurrency to use as collateral. Here, Huma Finance emerges as a practical solution, having created a bold new category called PayFi: a blend of payments and finance that allows individuals to borrow against their future cash flows instead of their digital assets.
The idea is simple yet revolutionary: salaries, bills, and even money transfers can be converted into collateral on the blockchain. Thanks to smart contracts and the time value of money model, Huma Finance can free up between 70% to 90% of this income and convert it into instant liquidity — all without going through traditional banks.
Breaking free from the trap of traditional collateral
The fundamental difference in Huma's model is that it does not rely on speculative collateral. In traditional DeFi, borrowers often have to provide double the loan value as collateral in cryptocurrencies, which excludes wide categories of users. Huma breaks this equation: if you have a stable income source, you can obtain liquidity today. Whether you're a freelancer awaiting payment, a family relying on monthly remittances, or a company managing receivables — this protocol opens the door to financing that aligns with daily reality.
Expansion and increasing adoption
Since its merger with Arf in 2024, Huma Finance has expanded its scope to include cross-border financing. By mid-2025, it processed over $4.5 billion in payment financing across networks such as Solana, Stellar, and Ethereum L2s.
The ecosystem has seen remarkable growth: wallet activity on Solana increased by 500% within weeks of the launch of Huma 2.0, while major institutions — from payroll service providers to money transfer companies — began adopting the protocol. The PayFi Summits in Singapore and Hong Kong further solidified the project's position as a leader in this new category.
How the Huma ecosystem works
Permissionless PayFi (Huma 2.0): Open to everyone, with flexible yield modes: Classic with fixed yields, and Maxi with higher yields and longer commitments.
Institutional PayFi: Targeted towards banks, companies, and payment service providers, with KYC/KYB requirements and the use of credit pools backed by receivables.
With this dual structure, Huma Finance successfully serves both the native DeFi community and large financial institutions, making it a rare bridge between traditional and decentralized finance worlds.
Tokens and the future path
The token ecosystem is still in its early stages. The Feathers program granted early users reputation points that may be tied to future distributions. An independent token, $PST, was also developed to be an effective governance asset that enhances returns and allows participation in community decision-making.
The ultimate vision is clear: a decentralized PayFi protocol governed by the community that enables real financing on the blockchain.
Why is Huma Finance important?
The strength of the project lies not only in providing yields but also in expanding financial access. It grants credit to the financially excluded, whether they are remote workers, small businesses seeking liquidity, or families relying on remittances. At the same time, it allows liquidity providers to achieve sustainable returns based on real economic activity — away from speculation.
In other words, Huma Finance is not just another DeFi protocol; it is the new blueprint for the future of real-world assets (RWA) in Web3.