In a strategic move to boost institutional participation in decentralized finance, Maple Finance has announced a partnership with Lido Finance to offer stablecoin credit lines backed by stETH, a liquid staking token that represents staked Ethereum.
This new product enables institutions to borrow stablecoins while retaining their exposure to Ethereum staking rewards, effectively unlocking liquidity without needing to unstake their ETH positions.
Unlocking Liquidity Without Sacrificing Rewards
Lido’s stETH token is a core asset in Ethereum’s liquid staking ecosystem. It allows users to earn staking rewards while keeping the asset tradable. By accepting stETH as collateral, Maple is opening a new pathway for institutional users to access capital without giving up their yield.
Through Maple’s credit platform, borrowers can now use stETH as collateral to secure underwritten stablecoin loans. This offering is especially beneficial for use cases such as treasury management, short term working capital, and conservative leverage strategies.
Supporting DeFi Credit Infrastructure
“This partnership formalizes a growing demand from institutions already using stETH in their capital strategies,” said Sid Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of Maple Finance. “By enabling loans backed by stETH, we are making it easier for institutions to access liquidity while keeping their core assets staked and productive.”
The initiative also highlights a broader trend in DeFi the development of credit infrastructure around tokenized and yield-generating assets. Institutional comfort with such native DeFi instruments is growing, especially as stETH gains further liquidity and integration across Ethereum-based protocols.
Institutional Grade Lending with Built-In Risk Management
Maple’s in-house credit team will underwrite each loan, ensuring due diligence and creditworthiness are prioritized. This gives institutions a level of risk oversight that aligns with traditional financial standards while benefiting from the efficiencies of decentralized systems.
The partnership between Maple and Lido represents a new era of capital efficiency in crypto finance, where institutions no longer need to choose between liquidity and staking yield.
