Kraken has expanded its over-the-counter (OTC) lending capabilities through a new partnership with Maple Finance. The partnership allows accredited lenders on Maple's platform to supply USDC liquidity directly to Kraken's institutional borrowers. This is made possible by integrating Maple's onchain credit infrastructure into Kraken's OTC lending desk.
The resulting facility is a revolving line of funding that lets borrowers draw, repay, and redraw funds without renegotiating terms each time. Only Pro-level verified clients who need at least $500,000 in USDC can access this service, indicating it's designed for institutional players like funds and trading firms.
This partnership isn't just about outsourcing lending capital, it also decouples Kraken's OTC lending growth from its balance sheet constraints. The broader relationship between the two companies has been building since earlier this year when Maple deployed its yield-bearing syrupUSDC product within Kraken's Ink L2 ecosystem, and listed Maple's governance token, SYRUP, for trading on Kraken.
Crypto lending has had a rough few years following the collapses of Celsius, BlockFi, and Voyager in 2022. This partnership with Maple marks a significant step forward as it provides transparency into loan positions, collateral ratios, and pool health, features that were lacking in opaque lending models like those seen at Celsius.