Blockchain lending protocol Morpho has raised $175 million in a funding round co-led by Paradigm, a16z Crypto and Ribbit Capital. The round also included Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures, VanEck and Ledger Cathay. The capital will support development of institutional lending infrastructure on blockchain.
Morpho operates an open credit network that allows institutions and fintech firms to build lending products on blockchain rails. The protocol has more than $11 billion in deposits. It is used by institutional clients including Bitwise, Galaxy and Anchorage Digital, as well as crypto exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Binance. Investors are betting that blockchain-based credit infrastructure could eventually be adopted by banks, asset managers and pension funds. Morpho said it will use the funds to develop its institutional lending infrastructure to build programmable credit products. Unlike many crypto projects that seek to replace traditional finance, the company is positioning itself as an infrastructure provider working with existing institutions.
