OKEx is stepping into the world of DeFi launching its C2C loan feature. According to Director of Financial Markets Lennix Lai, this will create an “open and transparent marketplace for matching demand and supply on idle capital.”

OKEx’s Foray into DeFi with New C2C Loan Feature
There was a time when cryptocurrency exchanges scrambled to list the most tokens. Now they’re competing on whole new terrains. From IEOs to cloud services, creativity knows no bounds. Today, OKEx has launched its brand-new C2C loan function in a bid to provide its users with a peer-to-peer loan service. Lai told Bitcoinist:
C2C Community lending creates an open and transparent marketplace for matching demand and supply on idle capital. Interest Rate is also governed purely by market competition – unlike other similar products where its rate-setting is genuinely a black box.
According to an announcement on the company blog, the C2C loan feature will allow individuals to transact directly and meet the various loan and investment demands of its users. In order to access this new feature, users will need to update the OKEx app to the latest versions and then click on “C2C loan” on the app homepage.
If you want to borrow money from a peer, you’ll need to put down BTC as collateral. Your loan will be paid to you in USDT, although OKEx says that more assets will be supported in the future.
Among some of the C2C loans’ interesting features are the fact that users have several options available to them. For example, borrowers can choose the rates they want to pay and how long the loan will last. 
What About Loan Defaults?
Like taking out any loan, there are some possible risks with the C2C loan feature. For example, the borrower may not be able to repay the debt. OKEx has a system in place for this. 
If the collateral falls beneath a prewarning line, the system will send borrowers a warning message saying that they need to increase their collateral (the initial amount of BTC put down). If they fail to do this, the platform will close the position when the price reaches the closing line. 
This means that the borrower stands to lose his or her BTC but the lender will not be left out of pocket in the event of a default. For more information on this new feature, check out OKEx FAQ on the topic here. 
OKEx is effectively expanding further to offer greater financial products to a wider net of users. Beyond spot and derivatives trading it seems that this is another company rolling the dice on the growth of DeFi moving forward.
What do you make of OKEx’s new loan functionality? Add your thoughts below!

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