Cross River and Arbitrum to Launch Onchain Loan Tokenization by 2027

Founder and CEO Gilles Gade revealed the project during Hong Kong Fintech Week, emphasizing that tokenization belongs at the moment of origination. By integrating this technology directly into its existing lending platform, the bank intends to create a shared, immutable record for ownership, funding, and servicing. This approach seeks to eliminate the friction currently involved in transferring records between disparate systems when assets change hands.

Offchain’s Enterprise Services team is spearheading the infrastructure build, utilizing ZeroDev to manage embedded customer wallets. For the end borrower, the experience remains unchanged; applications, funding, and repayments will continue through standard interfaces, while the tokenization engine operates discreetly in the background. Cross River will maintain its role as the regulated lender of record, ensuring that underwriting, risk management, and compliance protocols remain intact throughout the process.

Following a successful proof of concept, the teams are now focused on production deployment. The bank views this transition as a gateway to more flexible funding models, potentially opening access to international investors and onchain liquidity pools. This development follows Cross River’s recent integration of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, signaling a broader commitment to embedding blockchain-based rails into its core banking infrastructure.