Maple Finance Partners with Lido Finance to Offer Stablecoin Credit Lines Backed by stETH

The move will let institutions borrow stablecoins without unstaking their Ethereum (ETH), preserving exposure to Ethereum staking rewards while unlocking liquidity.

Maple Finance is partnering with Lido Finance to offer stablecoin credit lines that are backed by stETH, a liquid staking token that represents staked ETH.

The move will let institutions borrow stablecoins without having to unstake their Ethereum (ETH), allowing them to continue realizing exposure to Ethereum staking rewards while unlocking liquidity.

The new offering, which was shared with crypto.news on Wednesday, is designed for institutional users who are seeking to optimize their capital efficiency. Through Maple’s credit platform, borrowers will be able to use stETH as collateral for stablecoin loans that are covered by written-off credit tranches. The credit lines are being launched to support use cases such as treasury management, conservative leverage strategies, and short-term working capital needs.

Lower costs, easier access

Lido’s stETH token is a widely used asset in Ethereum’s liquid staking ecosystem, enabling users to earn staking rewards on ETH while having a token that can be traded and used in DeFi. By accepting stETH as collateral, Maple (SYRUP) will be able to offer institutions a lower-cost alternative to unstaking their ETH in order to gain access to fiat currency.

“This partnership formalizes a growing demand from institutions already using stETH in their capital strategies,” said Sid Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of Maple. “At the same time, we're seeing strong interest in new use cases for institutions to diversify their strategies beyond traditional credit instruments.”

He added: “By enabling loans backed by stETH, we're making it easier for institutions to access liquidity when they need it, all while keeping their core assets staked and productive.”

The partnership marks a natural progression in the development of DeFi credit, which is moving toward building out lending infrastructure around tokenized, yield-generating assets. It also signals the increasing comfort of institutional investors with DeFi-native collateral that maintains broad liquidity and integration across Ethereum protocols.

Maple’s in-house credit team will be underwriting the loans.