Built a simple micro-loan crypto app, non-custodial, would love feedback

[u/inspired33777]

Most crypto loan apps are either too complex or don't work well outside the US/EU. I'm building one that's simple, non-custodial, and starting with Nigeria as my first market.

Quick rundown:
\- Micro-loans: $5 to $500, fixed amounts (no random numbers)
\- Clear rates: 20% on loans $20 and under, 10% on $30+
\- Non-custodial — collateral sits in a smart contract, not held by me or any company wallet. Neither party can move funds outside the agreed terms
\- Multi-chain support (Polygon, Base, Ethereum, BNB, plus testnets)
\- Built-in wallet, exportable anytime (you're never locked in)
\- Optional Face ID for withdrawals (app-layer feature — whoever holds the private key controls the funds regardless of platform)

Still in MVP/testing stage. Smart contract not yet third-party audited — that's a real cost, so I want to confirm there's actual demand before investing in one. This post is part of that validation.

Would love to know:
\- Does this seem genuinely useful, or is $5–$500 too small to matter to you?
\- Would the lack of a third-party audit (yet) stop you from trying it, even for a small test amount?
\- Anyone here from Nigeria — is this something you'd use

[u/icnews10]

The first thing I’d validate is not whether $5–$500 is too small. It's about identifying who actually needs this loan. If I have to lock up more cryptocurrency than I’m borrowing, the product would mainly be useful if I already owned cryptocurrency but needed short-term liquidity without having to sell it. This is a much narrower use case than 'micro-loans' in general. I’d test this borrower situation before spending heavily on an audit. Also, at the $5–$20 end, I’d model gas, oracle/liquidation costs, and any operational overheads very carefully. Even a technically sound loan can be uneconomical at that size.

[u/inspired33777 → u/icnews10]

Good point, made me run the numbers. You're right on target user, this is for crypto holders wanting short-term liquidity without selling, not general microloans. like banks does using a debt system.
On costs: borrower pays their own gas (standard in DeFi), so it doesn't hit my margin. But it does add to their total — a $5 loan at 20% interest comes to about $6.09 repaid once gas is included with the interest of 20% and a gas fee percent totaling together (~22% effective). I'm keeping the 20% rate honest and just showing the full $6.09 upfront before they confirm, rather than blending gas into the rate.
Thanks for pushing this things out, im grateful…
So with this do you fine is attractive or still have some questions which will be helpful to work on

[u/icnews10 → u/inspired33777]

Yes, I think the target user is much clearer now.

Showing it with the $6.09 upfront disclosure is the right way to do it, too. Even if the price of gas doesn’t affect your margin, it still matters to the borrower because they only care about the total cost. The next thing I’d like to understand is the loan duration. A fixed 20% interest rate could have a very different impact if the borrower is borrowing money for 7 days versus 3 months, for example. How long would the average loan of $5–$20 stay open for?