Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platforms continue to grow, and several small-cap tokens ( These tokens power emerging protocols that let users lend crypto assets for interest or borrow against collateral. Below we highlight five such projects, summarizing their core features and CoinMarketCap statistics. Trava Finance (TRAVA) Trava Finance is a cross-chain lending marketplace on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) that allows projects and individuals to launch their own lending pools. Launched in 2021, Trava lets users create and manage “User-owned pools” for lending and borrowing. It also incorporates AI-powered analytics to reduce risk – for example, it offers tools like the BRicher token-price aggregator, Token Health indicators, and a Credit Score system to inform investment decisions. Trava Governance is fully decentralized, letting TRAVA token holders vote on upgrades. The team is even experimenting with NFT collateral: they launched “Trava Knight” NFTs and an auction platform as steps toward NFT-backed loans. Key features: Cross-chain lending pools; AI-driven analytics (credit scoring, token health); decentralized governance; NFT-collateral experimentation. Coin stats: Price ≈$0.00008485 (24h volume ≈$74 K); Market Cap ≈$343.8 K; Circulating Supply ≈4.05 B TRAVA. Trading: TRAVA trades on exchanges such as MEXC (TRAVA/USDT), BitMart, and PancakeSwap v2. UniLend Finance (UFT) UniLend is a permissionless DeFi protocol that uniquely combines spot trading and lending/borrowing for any ERC-20 token. Unlike other platforms that limit which tokens can be used, UniLend lets any community member list an ERC-20 token for lending, borrowing, and trading. Its upcoming UniLend V2 (launched Feb 2024 on Ethereum) promises expanded features and performance. UniLend also bridges into AI: it offers an AI Agent Hub where users can co-create on-chain AI agents using modular smart-contract “lego” components. The native UFT token is used for platform governance; holders can vote on proposals and earn rewards from liquidity mining and protocol fees. Key features: Permissionless trading & lending for all ERC-20 tokens; unified spot and lending markets; community governance (UFT) and a separate UFTG community token; modular AI Agent Hub for on-chain AI agents. Coin stats: Price ≈$0.00605 (24h volume ≈$54.7 K); Market Cap ≈$554.3 K; Circulating Supply ≈91.67 M UFT. Trading: UFT is listed on exchanges like AscendEX, Uniswap V2, and SushiSwap. ForTube (FOR) – The Force Protocol ForTube (formerly The Force Protocol ) is an open-source DeFi lending platform, deployed on Binance Smart Chain in 2020. It describes itself as a suite of crypto-finance service protocols aimed at developers. The platform supports crypto-backed lending and borrowing , yield farming, and issuance of on-chain stablecoins. Its services include cross-chain asset transfers, crypto-asset-backed stablecoin insurance, token insurance, and on-chain payments. ForTube’s smart contracts allow users to deposit, borrow, and repay assets at any time, with interest rates automatically adjusted by the protocol. Notably, the ForTube network has been audited by SlowMist for security. Key features: BSC-based DeFi lending/yield-farming; crypto-collateralized stablecoin issuance; permissionless platform with SDK/APIs for developers; algorithmic interest rates; audited smart contracts. Coin stats: Price ≈$0.000738 (24h volume ≈$128 K); Market Cap ≈$586.7 K; Circulating Supply ≈795 M FOR. Trading: FOR is tradable on major CEXs (Binance, Huobi, etc.) and decentralized exchanges. Interlay (INTR) Interlay is a Bitcoin-centric cross-chain DeFi protocol . Its goal is to bring Bitcoin into the wider DeFi ecosystem. As its website states, “Interlay is a modular, programmable layer between Bitcoin and the multi-chain ecosystem that unlocks decentralized (financial) use cases for BTC”. The main feature is the interBTC bridge, a 1:1 BTC-pegged asset secured by a decentralized network of vaults. Interlay also provides a DeFi hub for BTC – enabling Bitcoin swaps, lending, and staking with low fees (payable in any asset). The INTR token underpins the protocol: holders can lock INTR to vote on governance (“stake-to-vote”) and pay transaction or cross-chain fees, and INTR can even serve as collateral for interBTC or other assets. Key features: Trustless BTC bridge (interBTC) for using BTC across multiple chains; Bitcoin DeFi hub (swaps, lending, staking); modular architecture supporting EVM and Rust contracts. Coin stats: Price ≈$0.002310 (24h volume ≈$59.7 K); Market Cap ≈$154.8 K; Circulating Supply ≈67.0 M INTR. Trading: INTR is listed on exchanges like Kraken and Gate.io. Kintsugi (KINT) Kintsugi is Interlay’s canary network deployed on Kusama. It runs the same codebase as Interlay but serves as an innovation hub, getting new features first. Kintsugi’s flagship product is kBTC , a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset on Kusama backed by multi-collateral insurance (like a decentralized BTC-pegged stablecoin). The KINT token is primarily for governance (deciding protocol upgrades) and paying network fees. In practice, Kintsugi aims to stress-test and refine Interlay’s designs; as the Interlay docs say, “Kintsugi focuses strictly on innovation and will always be ahead in terms of features”. Key features: Kusama-based experimental layer for Bitcoin DeFi; 1:1 BTC-backed kBTC asset with MakerDAO-inspired multi-collateral insurance; token governance and fees (KINT). Coin stats: Price ≈$0.17 (24h volume ≈$65.5 K); Market Cap ≈$583.6 K; Circulating Supply ≈3.43 M KINT. Trading: KINT is traded on platforms like Kraken and Gate.io. Summary: Each of these projects has a unique niche in DeFi lending/borrowing, often involving cross-chain or Bitcoin-focused features. Their market caps are currently under $1 M, which implies both potential upside and higher risk. Before investing, do your own research: check current prices, liquidity, and developments. CoinMarketCap provides up-to-date stats (as cited above) to help track these tokens. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news !
