How much can you earn with P2P lending in Europe in 2026?

Platforms usually offer 10–16% per annum, but the actual net return after defaults, fees, and taxes varies a lot. For a well-diversified portfolio across 3–4 MiFID II platforms, a realistic return would be around 8–12% per annum. The 14–16%+ yields offered by newer platforms are usually a risk premium that will sooner or later show up as higher defaults.

Let’s break down the math 👇

🔘 Variable 1. The gap between advertised and actual returns

European P2P/P2B platforms usually offer anywhere from 6.75% (Bondora Go & Grow) to 14–16% (high-risk, unlicensed platforms). The market average for MiFID II platforms is around 10–12%.

According to global market data, the average net return is around 6.5% per annum.

🔘 Variable 2. Defaults are the main killer of profitability

The global default rate for P2P/P2B loans is around 4.5%, although for European platforms it is significantly lower: 2–8%, depending on the loan type and platform quality. On American platforms, it has historically been higher, around 14–17%. Meanwhile, the recovery rate in the global market is 40–60%.

🔘 Variable 3. Platform fees

A 1% annual commission on a portfolio yielding 8% equals 12.5% of the total return earned each year. Over 10 years, this fee can cost tens of thousands of euros because of lost compounding.

Since May 2025, Mintos has charged 0.29% per annum for Custom Loan Portfolios. High-Yield Bond Portfolios will be charged 0.39% per annum from January 1, 2026. This isn't much, but it's a constant drag on your returns.

🔘 Variable 4. Taxes

Taxation of P2P income varies across EU countries. In Germany, it's 26.375% (Abgeltungsteuer + Solidaritätszuschlag) on investment income. In Portugal, it's 28% on interest. In Estonia, it's 22%, with the option to defer taxes through an investment account while the funds remain invested through ECSP platforms. An extreme case is Ireland, where the effective tax rate reaches 52%, and default losses are not deductible from interest income. For example, if an investor earned €1,000 in interest but lost €600 to defaults, taxes are still levied on the full €1,000. In a bad year, the effective tax rate on actual profits can exceed 100%.

With a high tax rate of 35%, a stated return of 15% turns into a net return of 5.85% after defaults and taxes. This is the worst-case tax scenario. For a European investor with a tax rate of 20–26% and the ability to offset default losses, the net return is higher.

So, the stated return is just one number. After defaults, it's usually 2–4 percentage points lower. Fees and cash drag reduce it by another 1–2 percentage points. After taxes, the final result depends on where you live: from 22% in Estonia to 52% in Ireland.

If you'd like a more detailed breakdown, read our full article on Medium:

medium.com/@8lends/how-much-can-you-earn-with-p2p-lending-in-europe-in-2026-2b393d449b81

🤩 CRYPTO LENDING IS FINALLY LIVE!

After a successful beta test, we're finally opening Crypto Lending to everyone!

The core idea in a nutshell: you deposit USDC into a lending pool. Borrowers take out loans by locking up Bitcoin as collateral worth more than the loan itself, and you earn interest on every active loan.

How does it work?

🔘 Deposit USDC into a lending pool (minimum deposit: 1 USDC).
🔘 Borrowers lock up BTC or ETH as collateral worth more than the amount they borrow.
🔘 While the loan is active, you earn interest.
🔘 Withdraw your deposit together with the interest whenever liquidity is available.

❗️ The more USDC borrowed from a pool, the higher the demand. Higher demand generally leads to higher yields for lenders.

How do we protect lenders?

To borrow 80 USDC, a borrower must lock up approximately 100 USDC worth of Bitcoin as collateral. That extra 20% is a safety buffer in case Bitcoin dumps.

If the value of the collateral (Bitcoin) drops below a certain threshold, the collateral is automatically liquidated before it can fall below the loan amount. This returns USDC to the lending pool first and helps protect lenders.

The interest you earn is yours to keep—you can withdraw it, reinvest it into another lending pool, or invest it in real businesses on 8lends.

What are the risks?

🔘 The interest rate isn't fixed. It changes depending on borrowing demand. You always see the current rate in real time before depositing.

🔘 Bitcoin's price can dump sharply. That's why every loan is overcollateralized. If the collateral value drops too much, it's automatically liquidated before the loan becomes undercollateralized.

🔘 Withdrawals may occasionally take longer than usual. If most of a pool's liquidity has already been borrowed, you'll need to wait until borrowers repay their loans or new liquidity enters the pool.

🔘 Smart contract risk. Like any DeFi protocol, there's always a possibility of a bug in the smart contract code. The contracts are open on Base and can be audited by anyone, though. Each lending pool is isolated, so funds from different pools never mix.

❗️ Crypto and DeFi always involve risk. Returns aren't guaranteed and may change over time. This post is an explanation of how the product works, not investment advice. Always do your own research before investing.

Go and see how it works 👇

app.8lends.io/lend

😉 Did you see the new feature yet?

Thanks to your boosts, we've upgraded our Telegram channel to Level 4, so everyone can now read our posts in their native language.

Telegram automatically translates everything for you.

🤩 Share your thoughts on it in your language under this post!

🤯 What if 8lends shuts down?

We're sure some of you have already thought about it but never said it out loud. So let us say it for you.

If 8lends shuts down:

🔘 Your investments are protected by Maclear AG

Maclear AG is an independent Swiss company, a member of the self-regulatory organization PolyReg, and has undergone an AML audit by Grant Thornton AG. Swiss financial regulation is among the strictest in the world. As a company operating under this regulatory framework, Maclear AG can't just disappear.

As our Collateral Agent, Maclear AG legally holds the collateral rights for each borrower on behalf of investors, not on behalf of 8lends.

If 8lends shuts down, Maclear AG continues to operate as usual. Borrowers continue making their scheduled payments. In the event of a default, Maclear AG sells the collateral and returns the funds to investors. This is a legal obligation of an independent party under Swiss law.

So your legal right to repayment from a borrower can't just disappear.

🔘 Your money is on the blockchain, and 8lends doesn't hold it

The platform operator is Alpha Systems LLC, registered in St. Vincent as a VASP under the supervision of the FSA. It is a regulated entity licensed to work with virtual assets.

On top of that, every transaction is recorded on the Base blockchain, and our smart contract executes everything automatically, without any manual intervention.

That means even if the 8lends interface disappeared tomorrow, your funds would remain in the smart contracts, verifiable on Basescan.org, while Alpha Systems LLC would remain responsible for its obligations under the platform.

Your wallet's private keys belong only to you. We physically cannot access or dispose of your funds in any way other than what's defined by the smart contracts.

As H. P. Lovecraft once said:

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

But once you understand how everything works, there's nothing to be afraid of.

8lends was designed to protect your money, and it'll keep doing so.

❗️ The middle class is disappearing!

The middle class is usually defined as households earning between two-thirds and twice the national median income.

For example, in the US, that's roughly $56,000 to $170,000. In Germany, it's about €30,000 to €90,000.

And it's not just income — 59% of Americans can't even cover a $1,000 emergency without taking a loan.

In 1971, more than 60% of Americans belonged to the middle class.

📉 Today, that share has fallen to 50%!

If you want a more detailed breakdown of what's happening, watch our new video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/hRWuPO47lPE

17 Months of 8lends! 🤩

We hope you're all having a great summer, and if not, we recommend making the most of it because it's already August, the last month of summer!

As for us, we've had a great summer so far, and the numbers prove it:

From July 1 to August 3:

🔘 Raised: $1,875,561
🔘 Total investors: 2,459
🔘 Funded loans: $17,652,815
🔘 Loans repaid: $7,021,430

We thank you for your support and for staying with us. We're doing our best to keep everything as transparent as possible.

That's why we'll also share a PDF report on Wednesday with a full breakdown of everything that happened this month, including all the numbers and details.

Until then, have a great August!

We added a native deposit wallet to our platform!

We've eliminated gas fee headaches for newcomers while making one-click cross-chain swaps available to every type of wallet.

We've added the following features:

🔘 Native deposit wallet. This is a built-in alternative to MetaMask. It eliminates the need to manually manage or pay gas fees. If you're a new user, you can fund it right from centralized exchanges (CEXs), external wallets, and more.

This is available for all registration methods except WalletConnect.

🔘 Cross-chain bridging & swapping. This feature lets you swap crypto across different blockchains right in the interface (e.g., swap USDT on Tron for USDC on Base) for a small fee.

This feature is currently available only to users who created the new Privy deposit wallet. It will also become available to users who connected their own external wallets (e.g., MetaMask or Trust Wallet) this Thursday.

These features are secured by Privy, our licensed custody provider.

🤩 Did this update make your life easier? If so, leave a reaction under this post!

🤩 8lends Monthly Report for July

As promised, we're sending it to you, and we hope you find some interesting things in it.

Enjoy!

You can finally invest with fiat!

✅ We've added another cool feature: you can now add funds to your wallet on 8lends with fiat, without needing to buy USDC on a crypto exchange first.

For now, it's only available to those who use the Privy deposit wallet. It's created automatically when you sign up with email, Google, or Maclear.

✨ The provider of fiat deposits is MoonPay. It's a licensed platform in Europe with a CASP license for crypto-to-fiat transactions.

Before your first fiat deposit, you'll need to complete KYC on MoonPay. This is separate from the KYC verification you complete on 8lends.

To do that, you'll need to provide:

🔘 Proof of identity with your ID card or passport.
🔘 Proof of address with a utility bill or a bank statement.
🔘 Phone number verification via SMS.

Payments are accepted by bank card, provided the name on the card matches the personal information you submitted during your MoonPay KYC.

MoonPay isn't available worldwide. It only operates in certain countries. You can find the list here: support.moonpay.com/en/articles/380968

💸 The service fee is 5%. With the returns you earn on 8lends, it can pay for itself quickly.

🤩 Important: MoonPay is an independent service provider. It's neither part of 8lends nor Maclear. So, if you have any questions about deposits or transactions, please contact its support team: www.moonpay.com/contact-us

This is our first-ever fiat funding option. We'll keep looking for more options, but for now, this is the only one available.

If you love the steps we're taking, show us some ❤️ under this post!

We've changed the first investment bonus.

From now on, we reward our new investors with USDC vouchers instead of sending the bonus to their wallet immediately after the first investment.

Here's how it works now:

A user can see the voucher after signing up on 8lends, but it remains locked until they complete KYC and make an investment. It can only be used with a new investment of at least 100 USDC within 30 days after signing up.

The bonus is paid out together with the principal on that investment once it is repaid.

Why did we move to vouchers?

Because this approach encourages new investors to keep investing instead of claiming a bonus for a single quick action and then leaving the platform.

What bonuses do we issue as vouchers now?

🔘 Welcome Bonus (30 USDC) for completing KYC and making an investment.
🔘 Maclear Transfer Bonus (20 USDC) for transferring your KYC verification from Maclear to 8lends.

You can't use both vouchers for the same investment. But you can use them for two different investments. For example:

Investment #1: You invest 100 USDC and apply the Welcome Bonus voucher.
Investment #2: You invest 100 USDC and apply the Maclear Transfer Bonus voucher.

❗️ If you sell the investment linked to an activated voucher on the Secondary Market before it reaches maturity, that voucher expires automatically. You'll then receive a new voucher for the same amount with a new 30-day expiration period starting from the reissue date.

So, do you love the move to vouchers? 👇

The global P2P lending market is projected to reach ~$250 billion by 2032.

The P2P and P2B lending market has grown from a niche concept into a significant independent industry. However, estimating its size is still difficult, so figures vary widely across different reports. Some estimate the market at ~$7.29 billion (counting only P2P platforms), while broader definitions place it at ~$176.5 billion.

✨ Tokenized Treasuries represent the largest segment (excluding stablecoins), accounting for more than $11.5 billion, although the exact number differs across research firms.

According to RWA.xyz, the total value of tokenized real-world assets was approximately $10 billion in early January 2025. Today, it's already ~$38 billion.

💎 What about private credit?

According to Cointelegraph, private credit accounts for 53%–58% of the tokenized RWA market, making it the largest category. Data from RedStone's 2025 RWA Report, produced in collaboration with Gauntlet and RWA.xyz, shows that as of mid-2025, private credit represented $14 billion of the $24 billion tokenized RWA market.

However, other research estimates the private credit market at ~$2.29 Billion.

Well, why do people even care about private credit? Because of yield. Lending protocols usually offer 8%–15% APY, compared to 3.5%–5% for tokenized government bonds. Private credit funds usually target an 8%–12% IRR after fees and expected credit losses, while subordinated debt strategies can reach 12%–15%.

Forecasts also vary significantly. McKinsey's base case projects a ~$2 trillion tokenized asset market (with a range of $1–$4 trillion), while BCG originally projected $16.1 trillion before revising its forecast to $9.4 trillion by 2030 in its April 2025 report with Ripple.

🤯 As you can see, one of the biggest issues with RWAs is that the market is largely closed and permissioned. That's one reason estimates vary so much and the market has yet to go mainstream.

So, we're still in the building stage. But this is not a problem:

fifteen years ago, hardly anyone knew about Bitcoin.

The difference between crypto lending & yield farming

Some of you may already know what yield farming means. This is one of the most popular ways to earn in crypto. At first glance, all you need to do is put your stablecoins into a pool and enjoy your APY.

🍉🍈 But how does it actually work? To explain it, we'll need some watermelons and melons first:

Just imagine someone wants to swap their watermelons for melons. They go to the shop (an exchange or DEX), and the shop needs to have melons in stock to make the swap. But who provides the melons? The people who already put their melons into the liquidity pool: you.

Now imagine you provided 10 melons worth $50 in total, and the price of one melon goes up by $1. Does that mean your position is now worth $60? Wrong.

❗️ In a liquidity pool, the assets are getting rebalanced as people trade. So when the price of one asset changes relative to the other, the amount of each token in your position can change too. This can lead to impermanent loss compared with just holding the two assets.

And you're not the only liquidity provider. There can be many of you. The more liquidity a pool has relative to the trading activity, the smaller your share of the fees may be. APYs can vary significantly depending on the pool, protocol, token pair, trading volume, incentives, and market conditions.

And don't forget about the risk of the smart contract itself, as well as the risk associated with the assets you're depositing.

⚖️ APY for yield farming usually ranges from 3% to 7%.

🚩 Our crypto lending works in a somewhat similar way, but with a different collateral structure. You provide USDC to the lending pool, and the person borrowing your USDC provides BTC or ETH as collateral. The collateral is worth more than the amount they borrow.

⚖️ The LTV is 80%.

APR is floating as well and can rise with increasing demand for loans, so just like with yield farming, it's not fixed.

🔘 The protection of your money: If collateral falls toward the liquidation threshold, the position is automatically closed and the USDC is returned to the pool. Your earned returns remain yours. Everything you earned before that remains yours.

🔘 There's no dependency: Each market is isolated, so a drop in BTC doesn't affect an ETH market. There’s no fixed maturity, and you can withdraw anytime while liquidity is available.

🔘 Returns: APR varies with demand, and profits aren't guaranteed. Overcollateralization and automatic liquidation help reduce the risk of losses.

If you want to dive deeper into it, go ahead: app.8lends.io/lend

Have you tried crypto lending already? Tell us in the comments!

🤩 No more DMs!

From now on, our Telegram Support will be available through one official source — 8lends Channel Direct Messages

🤩 We're doing this to protect you from phishing and other types of scams. Previously, there were a lot of scam accounts copying the avatars and nicknames of our support team. They could easily reach out to our investors, and some people fell for this type of scam.

But now, no one will be able to copy the whole Telegram group just to reach out to you and try to scam you.

Chat access is now available only via the "Apply to Join Group" button, with verification through the bot. There's no longer any need to DM the bot outside the chat.

Also, only the person trying to join the chat can see the welcome and verification messages. Other people already in the chat won't see these messages anymore.

🤩 Remember: If someone DMs you from another account claiming to be 8lends, it's not us.

From now on, please contact us at t.me/eightlends?direct for all inquiries.

Official tax rates of 20–30% are a big lie.

The thing is, we all pay taxes on the same income more than once: when we earn it, when we spend it, and when we invest it.

🇫🇷 For example, France has one of the highest tax wedges on labor among OECD economies, standing at ~47.2% of total labor costs for a single worker earning an average wage with no children.

But some countries still manage to provide their citizens with a great standard of living despite relatively high taxes.

🇩🇰 Denmark has a progressive personal income tax system, with an overall marginal tax burden that can reach roughly the mid-50% range, depending on the taxpayer and circumstances.

Still, Denmark has been one of the world's happiest countries for years. In the 2026 World Happiness Report, Denmark ranks second, right behind Finland.

So how does Denmark manage to pull off this magic trick?

If you're interested, read our latest article on Medium 🤩

medium.com/@8lends/how-governments-cheat-you-on-taxes-and-why-official-data-doesnt-show-it-4749a6783fdd

Struggling with crypto? Try our FREE crypto course!

8lends and Maclear AG have a big crypto course consisting of 2 parts:

🔘 Part #1: Basic crypto course with 7 lessons
🔘 Part #2: Advanced crypto course with 9 lessons

The course is community-driven because every part of it was built based on the questions we received from our investors.

Both courses are available in 9 languages (AI-translated).

On top of that, we have some bonuses for you for completing the courses:

🎁 30 USDC if you received the Welcome Bonus
🎁 30 USDC + 30 USDC voucher if you didn't receive the Welcome Bonus

Click below to see the courses 👇

courses.maclear.ch/courses

Active Stages on 8lends! 🤩

🔘 APR range: 21% — 23.40%

Looking for stable USDC returns? We've got something for you 👇

🇰🇪 Commercial Construction (Lutrina Construction)

🔵 30.17% of 20,000 USDC funded
🔵 Loan period: 10 months
🔵 APR: 23.40%
🔵 Expires in 29 days

🇰🇷 Korean Parts (Capacity Co., Ltd)

🔵 44.62% of 20,000 USDC funded
🔵 9 months
🔵 APR: 22.10%
🔵 Expires in 26 days

🇱🇻 Waste Management (SIA Ramotti)

🔘 88.62% of 15,000 USDC funded
🔘 Loan period: 9 months
🔘 APR: 21%
🔘 Expires in 12 days

🇦🇪 Gold Car Rent (GOLD ROAD CAR RENTAL)

🟡 4.5% of 10,000 USDC funded
🟡 9 months
🟡 APR: 23.10%
🟡 Expires in 29 days

🇵🇦 Bitcoin Mining (ORAX Assets Management)

🟠 66.4% of 30,000 USDC funded
🟠 8 months
🟠 APR: 23.10%
🟠 Expires in 26 days

🇬🇪 Strawberry Cultivation (OSS HOLDING)

🔹 6.33% of 10,000 USDC funded
🔹 12 months
🔹 APR 22.90%
🔹 Expires in 23 days

The earlier you start, the more you can earn!

Don't miss the opportunity 👇

app.8lends.io/en

Bullet repayment on 8lends

Let's imagine a $10,000 loan for 12 months at 22% per annum.

🔘 Bullet repayment: the principal stays the same throughout the entire term, while the interest is calculated based on the full principal every month.

Example: $10,000 × 22% ÷ 12 = $183.33 per month. At the end of the term, that's $2,200 in interest + the full $10,000 principal.

🔘 Let's compare it with amortization (like a consumer loan, which 8lends doesn't have). The principal is repaid in equal installments of $833.33 per month, and the interest is recalculated each month based on the remaining balance, which decreases along with the principal.

As a result, in the first month, the interest is $183.33; in the last month, only $15.28. The total interest for the entire 12 months is $1,191.67.

⚖️ The difference is $2,200 vs. $1,191.67 at the same stated rate of 22%.

So, the reason our platform sticks to bullet repayments is that a borrower on 8lends is a real business that borrows money for a specific operational purpose. Such a business repays the principal from the revenue generated by that cycle, rather than paying it back in equal installments from the first month, when the money hasn't yet been earned.

✅ At the same time, this is more beneficial for investors because 100% of the principal remains invested for the entire 12 months, rather than an average of around 54% with amortization.

With amortization, the principal comes back in installments and has to be redeployed if you want to keep earning on the full amount.

Banks print money out of thin air.

The Bank of England proved this statement right.

🤩 In 2014, the Bank of England officially published a document that shattered a common misconception about banks: they don't take money from clients' savings, but create it when they issue a loan.

Approximately 97% of UK money is held as electronic bank deposits (created through commercial lending) rather than physical cash.

In the UK, the central bank has no formal reserve requirements. In the US, reserve requirements were reduced to zero in March 2020 as a COVID-19 emergency measure.

And there are a lot of things that stop banks from continuing to print more money: the central bank interest rate, bank capital requirements, the availability of profitable lending opportunities, and the broader monetary policy framework.

Read our latest article on Medium to learn more 🤩

https://medium.com/@8lends/banks-print-money-out-of-thin-air-heres-the-proof-from-a-bank-of-england-report-d0f6ad1da195

🤩 We break the crypto barrier for you!

If you're struggling with creating a crypto wallet, we can create one for you. If you don't want to buy USDC on a crypto exchange before investing on 8lends, we've added a feature that lets you invest with a bank transfer.

💎 Learn more about a wallet here
✨ Learn more about investing with a bank transfer here

Let us sum it up for you:

💎 About a crypto wallet:

You can sign up in two ways: via Privy or via Maclear.

If you choose Privy, you can continue with Google, email, or by connecting a wallet, and we'll create a crypto wallet for you, powered by Privy. So there's no need to bother creating a crypto wallet if you don't want to waste time on it. But if you already have one, you can still sign up with your own wallet.

If you sign up through Maclear, you'll also receive a crypto wallet automatically.

✨ About investing with a bank transfer:

This is possible thanks to MoonPay. It's a licensed platform in Europe with a CASP license for crypto-to-fiat transactions. Before your first fiat deposit, you'll need to complete KYC on MoonPay. This is separate from the KYC verification you complete on 8lends.

Once you invest, your funds are automatically converted to USDC and added to your balance.

⚖️ The service fee is 5%.

We're working hard to add more features and opportunities for you!

So we won't stop here and will keep cooking something nice.

And back to Privy and MoonPay—which of these features solves your pain with crypto and do you like the most?

❤️ Investing with a bank transfer
👍 Creating a wallet for you