While that application has taken time to materialize, bitcoin and other crypto assets are now increasingly fulfilling that purpose. Across the BTC, BCH and ETH networks, credit is being supplied to ordinary citizens while bypassing its traditional gatekeepers, usurping the authority of banks and credit agencies in the process.

P2P lending enables individuals and businesses to borrow money from one another. Facilitating this process has traditionally called for a middleman, known as a lending platform, to bring the counterparties together and custody the deal. For SMEs that have struggled to obtain credit through traditional means, P2P lending can be a lifeline, but it is one that can come at a high cost: lending platforms are known to levy significant fees, over and above those awarded to the lender.

The maturation of crypto assets has not rendered lending platforms redundant, but it has allowed for greater efficiencies, resulting in a better deal for both counterparties. Cryptocurrencies don't just minimize the fees accrued by middlemen, which in this case are typically levied by the lending protocol: they also allow for new forms of digital assets to be collateralized, opening the door to possibilities that are not available within the legacy P2P system.