Maple Finance, a thriving blockchain-based credit marketplace, recently announced a significant move, intending to spread its wings into the lucrative Asian market. This expansion is backed by a notable investment of $5 million, headed by investment firms BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital. Participating in this strategic round of financing were Cherry Ventures, The Spartan Group, GSR Ventures, Veris Ventures, and past investors Maven 11 and Framework Ventures.
CE0 Sidney Powell expressed his optimism citing this movement as a pivotal moment in the brand’s evolution. The expansion is deemed a part of an elaborate growth plan for Maple. This bold step would enable the network to scale its technology and form global alliances that foster a compliant, seamless lending and borrowing system primarily within Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea.
This focus on Asia emphasizes the geo’s exponentially growing significance in the digital asset industry. Distinct from the regulatory ambiguity in the U.S., Asian countries’ clear-cut regulations seem to provide a nurturing environment for crypto firms to cater to customer needs. Maple’s announcement comes in the wake of new licenses being handed to trading platforms in Hong Kong under the fresh crypto regime and a stablecoin regulatory framework introduced by Singapore’s central bank.
Maple’s trajectory hasn’t been smooth sailing so far. They faced a major hiccup last year with a significant crypto deleveraging following the staggering FTX meltdown, leading to a $54 million distressed loan accumulation. Interestingly, the firm recovered by unveiling a blockchain-based U.S. Treasuries facility, which has gathered $22 million of deposits since its April inception. Additionally, they institutionalized a direct lending division to cater to web3 firms. Despite the hits, the total value locked in Maple currently stands at a substantial $88 million.
Such an impressive recovery pace cannot be overlooked when Maple announced its comeback to the Solana network (SOL). This move stands significant since it previously halted its lending services on the network last December amidst a tech overhaul following FTX’s downfall. The Solana-based protocols, Solend, Drift and UXD Protocol, have committed to deposit funds initially.
Available only on Ethereum before, this facility enables accredited investors, companies, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to deposit their extra stablecoin in one-month U.S. Treasury bills and earn a 4-5% annual yield, thereby attracting $22 million deposits since its April commencement.
One cannot help but notice the rise of Maple Finance’s tokens (MPL), which have already seen a near 2% increase to stand at $4.96. The future seems promising for this blockchain marketplace in the new era of finance.
Source: Coindesk
