Kraken & Maple Build Crypto's Answer to a CMBS, But Make It Onchain 🏦

Kraken and onchain asset manager Maple have launched a tokenized warehouse financing facility designed to fund the crypto exchange's OTC lending business through a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle and USDC-denominated financing, the companies said Thursday. The structure applies a lending model commonly used in commercial mortgage-backed securities to institutional digital-asset credit, with Maple providing senior financing while Kraken retains an equity stake in the SPV.

Maple said the arrangement gives institutional lenders senior, overcollateralized exposure backed by Bitcoin and Ether, with collateral and loan performance tracked onchain. Kraken affiliates will originate, sell and service the loans while holding a position in the transaction, and Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, will custody the underlying collateral. Independent SPV administrator Zaria will oversee administration of the facility. The companies did not disclose the facility's size or financial terms.

The launch comes as tokenized credit has expanded to more than $6.2 billion in distributed value from roughly $1.87 billion a year ago, according to RWA.xyz. Maple is the sector's largest platform, with approximately $1.4 billion in tokenized credit assets.

Institutional crypto lending has continued to rebuild following the 2022 market collapse and the failures of lenders such as Celsius and BlockFi. In May, Ripple secured a $200 million credit facility from investment manager Neuberger Berman to expand the lending capacity of its institutional prime brokerage business, supporting margin lending and other credit products for hedge funds, trading firms and other institutional clients. The same month, analysts at Bernstein said tokenized credit could represent a $4 trillion addressable market as blockchain-based lending expands into sectors including mortgages, auto loans and small-business lending.

Not all onchain lending operations have fared as well. Earlier this month, lending protocol Radiant Capital said it would wind down after failing to recover from a $50 million exploit in 2024, citing an inability to replace lost funds or secure new capital.