Maple’s institutional grade assets will be integrated into Aave’s $40 billion lending protocol.
Maple Finance, an on-chain asset manager overseeing over $3.1 billion, and Aave, the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, announced a strategic partnership on Tuesday to introduce institutional-grade assets to Aave’s lending marketplaces.
The first integrations will include syrupUSDT on Aave’s Plasma instance, followed by syrupUSDC on the main market, with additional Maple assets to be added over time, according to a press release seen by The Defiant. Aave is currently the largest DeFi protocol with a total value locked (TVL) of over $40 billion.
The collaboration aims to stabilize borrowing demand, improve capital efficiency and strengthen liquidity within Aave’s variable lending model, according to a press release seen by The Defiant.
“This collaboration between Maple and Aave marks a significant evolution in how institutional capital interacts with decentralized markets,” Sid Powell, CEO and co-founder of Maple Finance, told The Defiant. “By introducing curated institutional yield to Aave’s liquidity pools, we are creating new ways for capital to flow efficiently and transparently on-chain.”
Powell added that the move also reflects the growing maturity of DeFi, as established protocols work in tandem to “build infrastructure capable of supporting true institutional participation.” The DeFi market as a whole has seen massive growth compared to the same period last year, with TVL increasing by 76% to reach $160 billion today.
Tuesday’s announcement follows a series of moves by Maple to expand its DeFi footprint. On Monday, Maple’s syrupUSDC token was listed on Fluid, a decentralized liquidity platform.
The asset can now be used as collateral on multiple stablecoin pairs, including USDC, USDT, and GHO, with up to 90% loan-to-value (LTV) and 1% USDC reward, according to an X article from Fluid.
In June, Maple announced a separate partnership with Lido Finance to provide stable credit lines backed by Ether (stETH) collateral. Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol, with over $33 billion in TVL.
And then, earlier this year, Maple expanded SyrupUSDC to the Solana network, which currently has a TVL of over $13 billion.
Maple’s native SYRUP token is currently trading at $0.35, down about 6% on the day as broader crypto markets slump. Launched in 2021, the asset manager has seen significant growth in TVL this year, reaching $2.9 billion currently from $298 million at the start of 2025, according to DefiLlama.
