Soul Protocol Unifies Crosschain Lending, Attracts 235,000 Users

DeFi offers an alternative to all aspects of finance, including lending and borrowing. However, access to services may be cumbersome due to the fragmented nature of the space. Ahmed Serghini, CEO of Soul Protocol, highlighted this issue during a recent Cointelegraph X Spaces session, stating that crosschain lending today doesn't feel connected and that it's difficult to access opportunities across chains without bridging assets. He emphasized the need for an experience that allows users to take advantage of any lending opportunity.
Soul Protocol addresses this issue by offering a unified lending ecosystem across multiple blockchains and platforms. The platform, which launched its testnet in April 2025, already boasts 235,000 users, 107,000 unique wallets, and over 1 million transactions. Serghini noted that Soul Protocol does not compete with other lending protocols but rather connects them. This means that a user who deposits assets on Aave through the Ethereum chain using Soul can use the same collateral to borrow from Venus on the BNB Smart Chain or any other supported protocol without bridging funds. The system sends messages from one chain to another using crosschain messaging infrastructures like LayerZero, Axelar, Wormhole, CCIP, and others, allowing it to track users’ positions across networks and enable lending actions.
While users enjoy a seamless experience, the system runs on a technically complex infrastructure. One of the team's biggest challenges was designing a scalable model that also protects users' positions on base protocols. Serghini explained that they solved this problem by implementing a structure where users can never be liquidated. Liquidity supplied to Soul is deposited into the protocol selected by the user, and Soul manages borrowing against that collateral in a way that ensures liquidations only happen on Soul’s side. This reduces risks and creates an additional revenue stream for the protocol.
Serghini also shared scenarios for possible Soul income streams. The protocol can apply a reserve factor to both the supply and borrow sides, in addition to what the base protocol already applies. It can also implement a fee for every crosschain borrowing interaction, which is especially powerful since it’s tied to transaction volume rather than total value locked (TVL). Additional revenue may also come from liquidation penalties, flash loan fees, and integrations with services like Stargate. Through them, Soul can collect a portion of the routing fees from external liquidity paths.
Serghini emphasized the protocol’s cautious approach to expansion, stating that Soul is chain-agnostic but starting conservatively. The protocol only integrates lending protocols and chains with proven track records, significant market share, and strict security standards. Later, the community and SToken holders will vote on new integrations and expand Soul's activity.
SO Token, the project’s governance token, unlocks value for holders by capturing protocol fees generated through user activity. Its value is directly aligned with the protocol’s growth, as all revenue is derived solely from fees paid for using the platform. In addition to governance power, the Soul Protocol team plans to implement a buyback mechanism for SO Token. All protocol revenue will be used to purchase SO Tokens from the open market, creating constant buying pressure for the token and driving trading volume. The repurchased SO Token will then be redistributed across money markets to boost yields, ensuring that Soul always offers more attractive returns than base protocols alone.
Serghini also mentioned that SO Token holders will help shape the protocol's future through a system of gauges and emissions. They will decide which money market receives the redistributed revenue and how much is allocated to it. The protocol will also introduce a position-boosting module. Users who supply liquidity and boost their positions with SO Tokens will earn a share of the revenue. Serghini concluded by saying that the ultimate goal is to build a sustainable ecosystem rooted in utility and long-term growth, allowing users to access liquidity in a trustless, crosschain way, no matter where their assets are.

Comments
No comments yet