Key facts
- Kraken and Maple have launched an onchain warehouse financing facility for crypto-backed institutional loans.
- The facility applies a traditional warehouse financing model to the digital asset space.
- It utilizes a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) for structured credit.
- Maple provides senior financing, with Kraken retaining a stake and servicing the loans.
- Kraken Financial will hold the collateral, with Zaria acting as the SPV administrator.
Crypto exchange Kraken and onchain asset manager Maple have launched a new onchain warehouse financing facility, bringing a traditional warehouse financing model to institutional crypto lending. The facility is designed to allow Kraken to expand its institutional lending business without tying up additional balance-sheet capital.
The structure utilizes a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) and USDC-denominated financing. Maple will provide senior financing, while Kraken will retain a stake in the transaction, originate, sell, and service the loans. Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, will hold the underlying collateral, and Zaria will administer the facility.
This move comes as the tokenized credit market has grown significantly, reaching over $6.2 billion in distributed value, with Maple being the largest platform in the sector. The structure offers institutional lenders overcollateralized exposure backed by Bitcoin and Ether, with performance tracked onchain.
The expansion in crypto lending infrastructure follows the market collapse in 2022 and the failures of firms like Celsius and BlockFi. Other firms, such as Ripple, have also recently secured credit facilities to bolster their institutional offerings. Analysts suggest tokenized credit could represent a substantial market, though some decentralized finance sectors continue to face challenges.