Maple Launches New Protocol Enabling Permissionless Lending To Institutions

Alongside the launch of Syrup Finance, Maple will also replace MPL with the new SYRUP token.

Maple Finance, a lending protocol for institutional players, has unveiled Syrup, a new DeFi protocol allowing users to permissionlessly lend USDC to institutions.

Maple told The Defiant that users can earn yield on the platform by depositing USDC, for which they receive syrupUSDC liquidity provider (LP) tokens. The USDC deposited onto the platform funds secured loans issued to the largest institutions in crypto.

“[Syrup] will unlock yield opportunities that don't exist, and help to democratize institutional private credit,” Joe Flanagan, co-founder of Maple Finance, told The Defiant. “We are broadening the DeFi offer.”

Maple bounces back

Maple Finance currently boasts $45 million in total value locked (TVL), according to DefiLlama.

Users have currently taken out $100 million worth of outstanding loans from the protocol, a sizable 80% drop from its May 2022 peak.

However, the protocol has been enjoying a recovery in terms of both TVL and loan activity since bottoming out in early 2023.

the-defiant — Maple Finance TVL. Source: DeFi Llama.

Syrup Finance

Syrup will offer a points program to early adopters in a bid to attract users. Early adopters will be rewarded in the form of “Drips” when depositing USDC to the protocol.

Flanagan said an upcoming airdrop has been earmarked for the protocol’s earliest adopters. He noted that the Maple community recently voted to increase the total supply of tokens by 10% or 1 million tokens to facilitate “growth incentives.”

Users who lock their stablecoins for up to six months will receive boosted rewards, with Maple targeting a maximum return of 15% annually.

Flanagan also noted that Maple’s MPL token will be replaced by the new SYRUP token, which will launch in Q4. MPL holders will be able to migrate to SYRUP on a one-for-one basis. SYRUP will inflate at a rate of 5% annually for three years.

Syrup will focus enabling broader institutional access to what it deems high quality leads. Assets posted on collateral will be Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs), among other digital assets.

Syrup will host a two-week signup period, followed by an early access window that will last between four and six weeks.