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- Kraken and Maple launch a USDC-funded SPV facility for institutional crypto-backed loans.
- Maple provides senior financing while Kraken retains an economic interest in each deal.
- Bitcoin and Ether collateral will be held by Kraken Financial under the new structure.
Kraken has expanded its institutional lending business through a Maple-backed financing facility for crypto-backed loans for institutional clients. The structure uses a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle funded with USDC. The companies said they will now support Kraken’s over-the-counter loan operations.
Kraken and Maple announced the facility on June 24. Maple is an on-chain asset manager. The arrangement brings a warehouse financing model from traditional credit markets into digital asset finance.
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Kraken Builds SPV-Based Lending Model With Maple
The facility differs from standard bilateral crypto loans. It routes lending through a special purpose vehicle rather than a direct two-party structure. Maple will provide senior financing, while Kraken will retain an economic interest in the facility.
The companies said the model can expand Kraken’s lending capacity. It does so without requiring Kraken to add more balance-sheet capital. Neither company disclosed the facility size, pricing details, or commercial terms.
Under the structure, Kraken affiliates will originate, sell, and service the loans. They will also keep a position in each transaction. Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, will custody the Bitcoin and Ether used as collateral.
Zaria, an independent SPV administrator, will manage oversight of the facility. Maple said the setup gives institutional lenders senior, overcollateralized exposure backed by Bitcoin and Ether. It also allows collateral and loan performance to be monitored on-chain.
Maple said the bankruptcy-remote SPV separates the financing vehicle from the borrower’s balance sheet. Maple compared it with commercial mortgage-backed securities and other structured credit markets. The framework is common in broader structured credit markets.
Kraken and Maple Facility Add to Tokenized Credit Growth
The launch comes as tokenized credit continues to grow. RWA.xyz data shows distributed tokenized credit has risen above $6.2 billion. The figure stood near $1.87 billion a year earlier, according to the same data.
The same dataset lists Maple as the largest platform in the segment. It shows Maple managing about $1.4 billion in tokenized credit assets. The Kraken facility adds another institutional use case for blockchain-based credit infrastructure.
Institutional crypto lending is still rebuilding after the 2022 market failures. Celsius, BlockFi, and other lenders collapsed during that period. Since then, firms have focused more on collateral controls, bankruptcy protection, and structured lending models.
Other companies are also moving into blockchain-based credit. Ripple secured a $200 million credit facility from Neuberger Berman earlier this year. The facility supports Ripple’s institutional prime brokerage lending business.
Stablecore also launched an early-access stablecoin and digital asset program for U.S. credit unions. Capital B announced plans for a Bitcoin-backed credit product for European investors. Morpho released its Midnight white paper for a fixed-rate, fixed-term on-chain lending protocol.
The market still carries operational and security risks. Radiant Capital said earlier this month that it would wind down after a $50 million exploit in 2024. Bernstein analysts said in May that tokenized credit could reach a $4 trillion addressable market.
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