Kraken teams with Maple to bring warehouse financing onchain for institutional crypto loans

Crypto exchange Kraken has partnered with onchain asset manager Maple to introduce a warehouse financing facility on the blockchain for loans backed by digital assets. The setup adapts a conventional credit model to expand structured lending activities in institutional markets.

Kraken expands institutional lending without additional balance sheet capital. According to the announcement on Thursday, the facility supports the exchange's over-the-counter lending operations via a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle along with USDC-denominated senior financing from Maple. Kraken maintains an equity position in the deals.

This approach departs from standard bilateral crypto borrowing by channeling transactions through the SPV. Affiliates of Kraken handle origination, sales and servicing of the loans. Kraken Financial, which operates as a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, safeguards the collateral, and Zaria acts as the independent administrator for the vehicle.

Facility targets institutional exposure to Bitcoin and Ether collateral. Maple noted that the setup delivers senior, overcollateralized positions for institutional participants, with all collateral and performance data recorded transparently onchain.

The bankruptcy-remote SPV prevents the borrower from initiating bankruptcy proceedings, a mechanism frequently deployed in sizable commercial deals including commercial mortgage-backed securities. No details were released on the facility's overall size or specific economic terms.

Tokenized credit market has grown sharply over the past year. Data from RWA.xyz indicates that tokenized credit has increased to more than $6.2 billion in distributed value, up from roughly $1.87 billion twelve months earlier. Maple ranks as the category leader, overseeing approximately $1.4 billion in such assets.

Announcement arrives amid broader crypto lending recovery. The initiative surfaces as the sector rebuilds from the 2022 downturn and the collapses of platforms such as Celsius and BlockFi. During May, Ripple obtained a $200 million credit line from Neuberger Berman to grow its institutional prime brokerage offerings, including margin lending and related products for hedge funds along with trading entities.

In the same period, Bernstein analysts projected that tokenized credit might evolve into a $4 trillion addressable opportunity while blockchain lending extends into areas like mortgages, auto loans and small-business financing. Meanwhile, segments of decentralized finance have encountered setbacks, such as Radiant Capital's announcement earlier this month to shut down operations after being unable to recover from a $50 million exploit suffered in 2024.