Cross River and Offchain Target Loan Tokenization on Arbitrum in Early 2027
Key Facts
Cross River and Offchain announced a partnership on November 3, 2026, to integrate loan tokenization directly into the lending platform, enabling assets to be tokenized at origination. The companies are moving from proof of concept to building production infrastructure targeted for launch in early 2027. The approach means an asset can be prepared for funding, ownership transfer and distribution from the moment it is created, rather than adding tokenization after the loan is originated. The bank said assets originated through the platform can be structured for these purposes from the outset. The partnership will use the Arbitrum One network, while Offchain Enterprise Services develops the solution with the bank.
The concept relies on a unified record of the asset as it moves through funding, ownership and distribution. Gilles Gade, Cross River’s founder and chief executive, said: "Tokenization should start at loan origination. Starting there means one record and fewer steps." The approach links tokenization to the loan origination process itself, rather than treating it as a layer added later to an existing asset. According to the bank, this arrangement can support asset funding, ownership trading and distribution from origination. The company says the infrastructure is intended to link these stages through a shared record.
The solution will not require borrowers to change how they interact with the bank; applications, funding and repayments will continue through existing customer experiences. ZeroDev wallet infrastructure will be integrated in the background to enable blockchain interaction without moving these steps to a new interface. Cross River will remain the regulated bank and lender of record for assets originated through the platform. The bank also said tokenization will not change underwriting standards, risk management or compliance. The partnership is therefore focused on asset infrastructure, funding and ownership transfer, while lending and compliance responsibilities remain with the bank.
Cross River selected Offchain Enterprise Services to combine custom engineering with blockchain and wallet infrastructure, and Offchain engineers are working alongside the bank’s team to develop the solution. The bank outlined financing possibilities that could include ongoing loan purchase programs, more flexible commitment sizes, and new ways to pool assets and present them to credit investors. These are possibilities associated with the infrastructure under development, not commercial terms announced in the partnership. They build on the bank’s earlier asset financing activity; on September 29, 2025, it committed to purchasing up to $360 million in assets from Parafin under a forward-flow agreement. The bank offers an API-based marketplace lending platform that includes underwriting verification and funding services.
Cross River’s lending activity provides the backdrop for expanding the infrastructure to tokenization at origination. The bank said its team facilitated nearly $1.5 billion in loans during 2025 and welcomed more than 25 new institutional investors and software partners that year. It also said lending through its platform grew by more than 30% year over year in 2025. That year, the bank completed its first commercial mortgage-backed securitization, valued at $288 million, which it described as the largest single loan sale in its history. These activities point to established funding and distribution channels that the new solution aims to integrate with tokenization at origination.
Arbitrum One operates within an ecosystem that includes financial assets and applications built on the network. Arbitrum said on October 6, 2026, that about $4 billion in stablecoins were on the network. On the same day, it announced the launch of USDG on Arbitrum One, with initial integrations including Fluid, Morpho, GMX, Maple, Uniswap and Kraken. As for the Cross River and Offchain project, the companies have completed a proof of concept for loan tokenization and are now building the production deployment targeted for early 2027. That date marks the next announced stage of the partnership.