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Bitwise Asset Management has made its first institutional move into decentralized finance (DeFi) by investing in Maple Finance’s overcollateralized Bitcoin loan offerings, according to Maple’s statement on March 6.
While the exact investment amount remains undisclosed, Maple confirmed that Bitwise’s allocation is reflected in its “blue chip secured” strategy’s total value locked (TVL) data on Dune Analytics. Notably, Maple’s TVL saw an increase of approximately $5 million between March 4 and March 5.
Sid Powell, CEO of Maple, stated that Bitwise’s participation highlights the increasing maturity and reliability of on-chain lending platforms. Both firms emphasized that this move aligns with a broader trend of institutional investors diversifying beyond traditional fixed-income markets into scalable, efficient on-chain lending solutions.
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Source: Dune Analytics
Growing Institutional Interest in DeFi
Institutional investors in the U.S. are gradually engaging with DeFi, especially amid President Donald Trump’s commitment to establishing the nation as a global leader in crypto. His administration has also appointed regulators with pro-crypto stances to key positions.
Jeff Park, Bitwise’s head of alpha strategies, highlighted the firm’s focus on crypto-native investments that provide dynamic, uncorrelated returns. He also pointed to Bitwise’s growing interest in leveraging opportunities within on-chain credit markets.
Maple’s “blue-chip secured” strategy currently offers an annual percentage rate (APR) exceeding 9%—significantly higher than Aave’s 0.01% APR for Bitcoin lending and as represented by Federal Reserve’s secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) of approximately 4.3% APR for U.S. dollar-based money markets.
Founded in 2021, Maple Finance specializes in on-chain credit solutions for institutional investors, with its total TVL surpassing $700 million.
Bitwise, a crypto asset manager overseeing $12 billion in assets, sponsors multiple U.S.-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW).