Kraken expands lending with Maple facility
- Kraken has launched a USDC-backed institutional crypto lending facility with Maple using a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle.
- The structure is designed to expand Kraken's lending capacity while limiting additional balance-sheet capital requirements.
- The launch reflects growing institutional interest in tokenised credit, which has expanded to more than US$6.2 billion.
Kraken has partnered with Maple to launch a USDC-funded institutional crypto lending facility that uses a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) to support crypto-backed loans.
The new structure differs from traditional bilateral lending by allowing Maple to provide senior financing while Kraken retains an economic interest and continues originating and servicing the loans.
Kraken said the facility allows it to expand institutional lending capacity without committing additional balance-sheet capital.
Under the arrangement, Kraken Financial will custody the underlying Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and Ether (CRYPTO:ETH) collateral, while Zaria will administer the SPV, although neither Kraken nor Maple disclosed the size or commercial terms of the financing.
The companies said the structure is intended to provide institutional investors with overcollateralised exposure to Bitcoin and Ether, while separating the financing vehicle from the borrower's balance sheet through a framework commonly used in traditional structured credit markets.
The launch comes as institutional crypto lending continues to recover following the failures of Celsius and BlockFi in 2022, with firms placing greater emphasis on collateral management, bankruptcy protections and tokenised credit infrastructure.
According to RWA.xyz, tokenised credit has grown from about US$1.87 billion to more than US$6.2 billion over the past year, while Bernstein has estimated the market could eventually reach US$4 trillion as blockchain-based lending expands into traditional credit markets.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $60,011.11.
