Bitcoin-based P2P lending platform

The challenge

Firefish, a Czech fintech company, set out to introduce an innovative Bitcoin-based financial product using smart contract technology. To bring its peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform to market, the company needed to validate both its business concept and the technical feasibility of the solution.

With no prior software engineering experience within the founding team, Firefish needed a technical partner who could turn the concept into a working product and establish the foundations for future growth.

Our approach

Instea took ownership of the technical setup, from defining the customer journey and P2P lending algorithms to establishing the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and agile development processes.

Within just 2.5 months, we delivered a functional minimum viable product (MVP). As Firefish progressed, we continued to support its growth by mentoring junior engineers, helping build an in-house engineering organization, developing technical team leads, and scaling development capacity in line with investment milestones.

What we built

We developed the initial P2P lending platform, integrating smart contract technology to support Bitcoin-based lending. Beyond the MVP, we established the technical architecture and development processes that enabled Firefish to evolve its product and scale its engineering capabilities as the business grew.

Services provided

1. Turnkey MVP & Platform Development
2. Technical Architecture & Smart Contract Integration
3. SDLC & Agile Process Setup
4. Team Extension & Capacity Scaling
5. Developer Mentorship & Technical Leadership

Looking ahead

What began as an early-stage concept grew into a fintech platform with 32K+ users, 33K+ loans funded, $880M+ processed, and 7,600 BTC secured. Firefish also raised over €2.5 million across multiple funding rounds and reached a company valuation of €50 million.

The technical foundations and development processes established by Instea continue to support Firefish's operations.