Expansion into Asia with $5 Million Investment
Blockchain-based credit marketplace, Maple Finance, has set its sights on the Asian market, announcing its expansion plans fueled by a $5 million investment round. The fundraising effort was spearheaded by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital, and also saw participation from Cherry Ventures, The Spartan Group, GSR Ventures, Veris Ventures, Maven 11, and Framework Ventures, as stated in a press release.
CEO Sidney Powell emphasized the significance of this funding round, stating, “This funding round marks a pivotal moment in our evolution as we embark on a strategic expansion into the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region as part of a comprehensive growth plan for Maple.” Powell further elaborated, “The network is poised to further scale its technology and forge partnerships that enable compliant and seamless lending and borrowing adoption across the APAC region, specifically in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea.”
Maple’s focus on the Asian market underscores the region’s growing importance in the digital asset industry. Notably, Asian countries have been taking the lead in establishing clear regulatory frameworks for crypto companies to serve consumers. This is in contrast to the regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. Noteworthy developments include Hong Kong’s issuance of the first licenses to trading platforms under its new crypto regulations, and Singapore’s central bank unveiling a regulatory framework for stablecoins. The expansion efforts of U.S.-based exchange Gemini into Singapore further emphasize the region’s significance.
The move comes as Maple Finance continues to recover from the repercussions of last year’s extensive crypto deleveraging, stemming from the FTX collapse. This event led to the accumulation of $54 million worth of distressed loans on the platform.
In April, Maple Finance introduced a blockchain-based U.S. Treasuries facility, which has garnered $22 million in deposits since its launch. Additionally, the firm established a direct lending arm targeting web3 companies in June. Despite a decline from its peak value of $938 million in May, the total value locked on the Maple platform currently stands at $88 million, according to DefiLlama.
Return to Solana
Maple Finance also made an announcement on Monday regarding its renewed utilization of the Solana (SOL) network, marking its reentry after an eight-month hiatus. The expansion involves extending its stablecoin cash management services to the Solana network.
Protocols on Solana, including Solend, Drift, and UXD Protocol, have committed to depositing funds into the platform. This initiative allows accredited investors, companies, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to invest their surplus stablecoins into one-month U.S. Treasury bills, thereby earning a 4-5% annual yield. Since its launch in April, this service has attracted $22 million in deposits, as reported on the platform’s dashboard.
This development marks Maple’s return to the Solana network, following its suspension of lending activities on the network in December, which was prompted by significant technical adjustments in the wake of the FTX collapse.
