LoanCast Protocol

The Social Credit Primitive

Version 1.0
August 2025
loancast.app

Manifesto :: Your Cast is Your Credit

Social capital is real capital. In a world where identity persists and communities witness, reputation becomes the only collateral that matters.

Traditional credit failed—three numbers from faceless bureaus gate access to capital. Web2 peer-to-peer failed—anonymous defaults and institutional capture killed the dream. They tried to port old systems to new rails.

LoanCast isn't porting anything. We're building credit native to social networks. Where a cast is a contract. Where your followers are your credit union. Where defaulting costs more than money—it costs identity.

The cryptoeconomy needs credit expansion. Not through collateral—that's just moving existing capital. Through reputation—that creates new capital from social trust.

The Social Credit Gap

The modern financial system runs on two pillars: money and credit. Crypto solved money with stablecoins. Credit remains broken.

The numbers tell the story:

  • • $5.3 trillion in global unsecured credit
  • • $100 billion in rotating savings groups (ROSCAs)
  • • $1.3 trillion in cash-flow based financing
  • • $0 in social network native credit

Every day, millions lend to friends on Venmo, Zelle, CashApp. No history built. No reputation earned. No access unlocked. These trust-based transactions remain invisible to the financial system, creating no value for participants beyond the immediate exchange.

Meanwhile, 2 billion people globally are "credit invisible"—they have smartphones, social networks, and financial needs, but no access to fair credit. The infrastructure for trust exists. The rails for value transfer exist. Only the protocol to connect them is missing.

LoanCast is that protocol.

The Credit Primitive

LoanCast transforms Farcaster's social graph into a credit network through three innovations:

1. Cast-as-Contract Architecture

The loan request is the loan contract. By leveraging Farcaster's native collectible mechanism:

  • Price Discovery: 24-hour auctions naturally price credit risk
  • Social Proof: Public casts create community accountability
  • Atomic Settlement: Smart contracts handle the entire flow
  • Viral Distribution: Loans appear natively in social feeds

2. Reputation-as-Collateral Model

When identity persists and communities witness, social capital becomes effective collateral:

  • Identity Value: Farcaster IDs with history are socially expensive to abandon
  • Network Effects: Each successful repayment strengthens the entire system
  • Social Enforcement: Default consequences are immediate and public
  • Portable Credit: Reputation travels across the decentralized web

3. Protocol-First Design

LoanCast operates as infrastructure, not an application:

  • No Custody: Protocol never holds funds
  • No Pooling: Direct peer-to-peer transactions avoid securities complications
  • No Gatekeeping: Anyone can build interfaces and integrations
  • No Rent-Seeking: After covering Farcaster fees, protocol remains free

The Credit Stack

Layer 0: Identity Infrastructure

  • Farcaster IDs (FIDs): Cryptographically-controlled persistent identity
  • Social Graph: Followers, connections, and interaction history
  • ENS Integration: Optional real-name attestation
  • Cross-Protocol Future: Lens, WorldID, and emerging identity systems

Layer 2: Application Layer

  • LoanCast.app: Reference implementation
  • Mobile Apps: Native iOS/Android experiences
  • DAO Integrations: Treasury management tools
  • Creator Tools: Advance against future content
  • API/SDK: Enable any developer to build

Layer 1: Core Protocol

LoanCore.sol
├── createLoan(fid, amount, duration, rate)
├── fundLoan(loanId, lenderFid)
├── repayLoan(loanId)
└── updateReputation(fid, outcome)
ReputationOracle.sol
├── computeScore(fid) → 0-1000
├── assignBadge(fid, BadgeType)
└── getMaxLoan(score) → amount

Credit Mechanics

Reputation Algorithm

Score = 400 * sqrt(followers/1000) +
400 * (successful_loans/total_loans) +
200 * (account_age_days/365)
Constraints:
- New accounts: Start at 200 (social proof baseline)
- First loan: Capped at $200
- Growth path: Each repayment unlocks higher limits
- Default penalty: -200 points + permanent badge

Interest Rate Discovery

Market-driven through auction mechanics:

  • High reputation + urgent need: 0-2% monthly
  • Medium reputation + standard need: 2-5% monthly
  • Low reputation or first loan: 5-10% monthly
  • Natural ceiling: Social judgment prevents predatory rates

Risk Distribution

  • Small loans: Median $500 limits individual exposure
  • Multiple lenders: Auction allows partial funding
  • Social filtering: Loans visible primarily to existing network
  • Reputation stakes: Borrowers risk years of social capital

Network Effects and Growth

The Virtuous Cycle

  1. 1. Successful loan → Builds borrower reputation
  2. 2. Public repayment → Increases system trust
  3. 3. Higher trust → More lenders participate
  4. 4. More liquidity → Better rates and faster funding
  5. 5. Better experience → More borrowers join
  6. 6. Larger network → Stronger reputation signals

Early Results (Aug-Sept 2025)

  • • Genesis loan: LOANCAST-001 for $789, repaid on time
  • • First 10 loans: 100% repayment rate
  • • Average funding time: 4.2 hours
  • • Viral coefficient: 2.3 (each user brings 2.3 more)
  • • Platform growth: 500% month-over-month

Network Expansion Path

Phase 1: Farcaster Native (Now)
- 50K addressable users
- $500 average loan
- $125M annual volume potential
Phase 2: Cross-Protocol (Q1 2026)
- Lens Protocol integration
- ENS reputation import
- 500K+ combined users
Phase 3: Identity Aggregation (Q2 2026)
- WorldID verification
- Gitcoin Passport scoring
- Traditional credit score bridges
Phase 4: Global Social Credit (2027+)
- Any identity system
- Any social graph
- Any currency

Beyond Human Credit

As online identity becomes primary identity, LoanCast enables new categories of borrowers:

AI Agents

  • • Borrow against future compute earnings
  • • Reputation built through successful transactions
  • • No human required for credit access

DAOs and Communities

  • • Transform treasuries into member credit unions
  • • Programmatic lending based on contribution history
  • • Social tokens as additional reputation signals

Creators and Builders

  • • Advance against future content revenue
  • • Fan-funded working capital
  • • Reputation from audience engagement

Regulatory Clarity

LoanCast operates in the regulatory gap between social payments and securities:

Key Design Decisions

  • • True P2P: No pooling or intermediation
  • • Small Amounts: $1000 cap stays below thresholds
  • • Social Context: "Friends helping friends"
  • • Protocol Layer: Decentralized, no single operator

Compliance Strategy

  • • Monitor evolving DeFi guidance
  • • Maintain geographic restrictions where required
  • • Preserve DAO transition option
  • • Focus on social lending, not investment returns

The Path Forward

Technical Roadmap

Q4 2025:
- Cross-chain reputation bridges
- Privacy-preserving credit proofs
- Automated insurance pools
- Mobile-first experiences
Q1 2026:
- Multi-protocol identity aggregation
- DAO lending pool templates
- Creator economy integrations
- Reputation NFT system
Q2 2026:
- AI agent credit lines
- Merchant cash advances
- Revenue-based lending
- Global expansion

The Endgame

LoanCast demonstrates that reputation can replace collateral when identity persists and communities witness. As social graphs become economic graphs, as trust becomes computable, as reputation becomes portable—every community becomes a credit union, every social network becomes a financial network.

We're not building another lending app. We're building the primitive that makes a thousand experiments possible. Where a Kenyan teacher can borrow for supplies based on community standing. Where an Indian developer can get conference funding from open-source reputation. Where a Brazilian creator can advance against future content.

Stage 1: Friends lending on Farcaster ✓
Stage 2: Reputation bridges across protocols
Stage 3: AI agents accessing capital through trust
Stage 4: Global social credit network
The infrastructure for social credit now exists. Your cast is your credit. Your network is your net worth.