Maple and Aave Team Up to Bring Institutional Assets to DeFi Lending Markets

Maple Finance, an on-chain asset manager overseeing more than $3.1 billion, and Aave, the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, announced on Tuesday a strategic partnership to bring institutional-grade assets into Aave’s lending markets.

Initial integrations will include syrupUSDT on Aave’s Plasma instance, followed by syrupUSDC on the core market, with additional Maple assets to be added over time, according to a press release viewed 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 borrow demand, improve capital efficiency, and strengthen liquidity within Aave’s variable lending model, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant.

“This collaboration between Maple and Aave marks a meaningful 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 into Aave’s liquidity pools, we’re creating new ways for capital to move 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 that can support real institutional participation.” The broader DeFi market has recorded massive growth from this time last year, with TVL increasing by 76% to $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 across multiple stablecoin pairs, including USDC, USDT, and GHO, with up to 90% loan-to-value (LTV) and a 1% USDC reward incentive, according to an X post by Fluid.

In June, Maple announced a separate partnership with Lido Finance to provide stablecoin credit lines backed by staked 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 boasts 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 recorded significant TVL growth this year, surging to $2.9 billion currently from $298 million at the start of 2025, per DefiLlama.