Bitwise Partners with Maple Finance for DeFi Lending
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Bitwise, a well-known cryptocurrency index fund manager, has entered decentralized finance (DeFi) by partnering with Maple Finance, an on-chain credit platform. This collaboration will provide institutional investors with secure and legally compliant DeFi investment options.
To this end, this shows a new trend of institutions seeking structured and transparent lending opportunities in the digital asset space.
Maple Finance’s Lending Model
Since launching in 2021, Maple Finance has provided over-collateralized and under-collateralized loans. However, it now prioritizes over-collateralized lending, mainly using Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as collateral. This method offers investors more security and has gained trust among institutions.
As of 2025, Maple Finance has about $620 million in total value locked (TVL). However, a unique feature is its ability to separate lending pools by risk level. To this end, conservative investors can choose BTC- and ETH-backed loans, while those seeking higher returns can invest in pools with assets like Solana (SOL) or XRP.
Bitwise’s DeFi Expansion
Founded in 2017, Bitwise manages ETFs, private funds, and staking products, with about $12 billion in client assets. The company’s crypto offerings, including ETFs tied to APT and XRP, have been expanding. It is important to note that earlier, at the beginning of this year, Bitwise raised $70 million from investors like Electric Capital and MassMutual, reinforcing its focus on DeFi.
By embracing on-chain lending, Bitwise offers clients structured and transparent opportunities. To this end, as DeFi continues to expand, more institutions may look into similar blockchain-based lending solutions.
Why Are Institutions Moving to On-Chain Lending?
The crypto lending industry has faced several crises, with companies like BlockFi and Celsius collapsing due to excessive risk-taking and poor oversight. Therefore, these failures highlighted the importance of more transparent lending solutions. However, by using blockchain like Maple Finance, Bitwise hopes to add another layer of security and ensure trackable transactions, thereby reducing fraud risks.
Maple Finance’s founder, Sid Powell explained that in 2022, high leverage made markets unstable. Many firms borrowed and lent money without proper safeguards, leading to financial contagion. Today, the firm focuses on conditions where borrowers must provide sufficient digital assets as collateral. This approach reduces the risk of widespread losses.
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