The problem BitLoans solves

In Nigeria, many crypto holders face a common challenge — they need cash liquidity without wanting to sell their ETH. Selling often means losing potential future gains, dealing with complex off-ramp processes, and paying high fees or facing poor exchange rates.

BitLoans solves this by allowing users to borrow cNGN (a stablecoin pegged to the Naira) using their ETH as collateral.

What People Can Use It For

• Instant Liquidity: Get spendable cNGN directly in your wallet without selling your crypto.
• Flexible Borrowing: Use ETH as collateral and redeem it anytime by repaying your loan.
• Avoid Market Losses: Keep exposure to ETH’s price growth while accessing cash when needed.
• No Bank Middlemen: All transactions happen onchain — transparent, secure, and censorship-resistant.
• Safe Crypto-Backed Loans: Borrow with predictable interest rates and clear collateral ratios.

How It Makes Life Easier

• For traders: Access liquidity to take new positions without liquidating holdings.
• For students and freelancers: Cover urgent expenses while holding long-term crypto assets.
• For crypto earners: Convert value to cNGN safely, avoiding volatile peer-to-peer exchanges.
• For businesses: Manage short-term cash flow needs with ETH reserves.

BitLoans brings financial flexibility to the Nigerian crypto community — no selling, no stress, just borrowing on your terms.

Challenges I ran into

1. Collateral Valuation Accuracy

Since ETH prices fluctuate constantly, ensuring accurate on-chain valuation for collateralized loans was critical.
Solution: Integrated a Chainlink price feed to fetch real-time ETH/cNGN rates, preventing under- or over-collateralization.

2. Managing Liquidation Logic

Designing the smart contract to automatically liquidate positions when collateral value drops below the safety threshold was tricky.
Solution: Implemented a modular liquidation check triggered during key contract interactions and admin functions, ensuring predictable and safe behavior.

4. Frontend Design Consistency

Maintaining consistent styling across all pages without performance loss was challenging.
Solution: Created reusable UI components (GlassCard, GlassButton) with Tailwind and applied global blur and color presets.

5. Simulating Mainnet Loan Scenarios

Testing loan behavior under real-world volatility required multiple simulation setups.
Solution: Used Hardhat mainnet forking and test accounts to simulate ETH price drops, ensuring the platform handled liquidation correctly.

Each hurdle improved the system’s resilience, accuracy, and user experience, making BitLoans more reliable for real-world use.