Crypto lending firm Maple Finance has announced a new lending platform and namesake reward token, Syrup, aiming to bridge the gap between institutional-friendly, yield-yielding digital assets and the permissionless world of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Maple’s Syrup promises users a 15% yield by depositing Circle’s USDC stablecoin on the platform, and users will receive LP tokens (Syrup USDC) as well as additional yield in the form of “drips,” royalty payments earned from the use of SYRUP reward tokens, Maple said in a press release on Tuesday.
Holders of Maple’s native token, MPL, will be transitioned to SYRUP tokens at a 1:1 ratio.
Many centralized crypto lenders have taken hits over the past few years. Maple has weathered the bear market storm thanks to its strict approach of only offering authorized deposits from accredited investors who undergo thorough know-your-customer (KYC) checks. This allows the company to operate in the U.S. and serve large, regulated institutions, Maple co-founder Joe Flanagan said.
“We want to stay true to our DeFi roots while focusing on institutional investors,” Flanagan said in an interview. “The launch of Syrup allows us to operate within the broader DeFi ecosystem so we can offer DeFi users the same institutional-level yields they get from collateralized loans to the industry's largest institutional investors.”
