A standout in the alt season: The rise of Maple Finance and its Token SYRUP

The alt season in the crypto market seems to be still far off, as most altcoins lack liquidity, and investors' attention has shifted to US stocks, Bitcoin, and RWA (real-world assets). However, in this overall environment, certain altcoins have shown a counter-trend rise.

The token SYRUP of Maple Finance is one of the outstanding ones. Since the beginning of 2025, SYRUP has risen by 400% and has now reached an all-time high. A certain institution had previously included Maple Finance in the list of the top 20 tokens to watch in the second quarter of 2025.

In the current market environment, a clear yet not directly related main trend is emerging --- institutional entry. While a plethora of crypto products aimed at individuals are emerging, competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the lack of liquidity within the circle is also reducing their fundamental support. In contrast, serving institutions represents an alternative path. Such products may be less intuitive and require higher thresholds, but in the current trend of institutional entry, they could become overlooked opportunities.

Maple Finance seems to have just caught the version bonus. The project focuses on providing low-collateral loans and RWA investments for institutions, such as tokenized US Treasury bonds and trade receivable pools. In June 2025, Maple Finance's assets under management (AUM) exceeded $2 billion, with clients including traditional hedge funds, DAOs, and crypto trading companies.

The market capitalization of SYRUP is currently around 700 million USD. Compared to those Meme coins in the previous market that were purely driven by emotions and had market caps of 1 billion USD or more, is the value of SYRUP underestimated? To answer this question, we need to gain a deeper understanding of the business model of Maple Finance.

Maple Finance: Institutional-Grade On-Chain Lending Platform

Maple Finance is a multi-chain DeFi platform that operates on Ethereum, Solana, and Base, specifically providing on-chain lending and investment services for institutional clients. Its clientele includes hedge funds, DAOs, and crypto trading firms. In short, Maple Finance can be viewed as an asset management tool that helps large institutions engage in on-chain lending, capital management, or investments, bypassing the complex processes and low returns of traditional banks.

Since its establishment in 2019, Maple Finance has developed into a mature platform. As of June 2025, its assets under management (AUM) reached $2.4 billion, with a total value locked (TVL) of $1.8 billion.

Participants on the Maple Finance platform each have their roles:

1. Borrower: Usually an institution in need of funds, such as a cryptocurrency trading company. They use digital assets (such as BTC or ETH) as collateral to borrow stablecoins like USDC.

2. Lender: The party providing liquidity, who can deposit USDC or ETH to earn interest.

3. Pool Trustee: A professional team responsible for assessing the borrower's credit to ensure loan security.

4. Staker: Hold SYRUP Token and stake, share risks and rewards.

Maple Finance's lending products are divided into two categories:

1. Open Access: Including SyrupUSDC, offering an annual percentage yield (APY) of 6.4%, suitable for individual and small institutional investors.

2. Permissioned Access: Targeting institutional clients, including Blue Chip (7% APY), High Yield (9.7% APY), and Bitcoin Yield (4-6% APY). These products require KYC certification, a minimum investment of $100,000, and offer dedicated service around the clock.

From Crisis to 2 Billion Asset Management Scale

The development of Maple Finance has not been smooth sailing. In 2022, the DeFi industry was hit hard, and Maple Finance was no exception. Initially, the platform adopted a partially collateralized model, which proved to be particularly vulnerable in the face of black swan events, with its asset management scale shrinking to $200 million at one point, and the default rate exceeding 5% during certain periods.

In the face of the crisis, Maple Finance decisively transformed. In 2023, the platform introduced over-collateralization (150% collateral ratio) and a tri-party agreement, greatly enhancing the security of lending. This shift not only restored market confidence but also provided institutional clients with a safer lending environment.

As the mainstream narrative of the crypto market shifts from individual speculation to institutional dominance, and more funds seek low-risk and risk-free returns, Maple Finance demonstrates strong recovery momentum:

• The total locked value of SyrupUSDC grew from $166 million to $775 million within 11 months.
• Since January 2025, assets under management (AUM) have increased nearly tenfold.
• Outstanding active loans within the protocol increased to approximately $880 million.
• Monthly revenue exceeding 1 million USD in May 2025, setting records for revenue growth for three consecutive months.

In May of this year, a globally renowned financial services company announced a $2 billion Bitcoin (BTC) lending program and chose Maple Finance as its preferred partner. This marks the recognition of on-chain credit by traditional financial giants and highlights Maple Finance's competitive advantage in the institutional lending space.

The Counter-Trend Rise of SYRUP

SYRUP can rise against the trend during a market downturn, mainly due to the following factors:

1. Characteristics of Safe-Haven Assets: Maple Finance's RWA products and over-collateralized loans offer stable high yields, making them an ideal choice for risk aversion.

2. RWA narrative direct beneficiaries: With the increasing interest of traditional financial institutions in blockchain, Maple Finance directly benefits as the "institutional-grade lending engine" of DeFi.

3. Differentiated competition: Compared to retail-oriented protocols, Maple Finance's institutional focus and emphasis on RWA give it an advantage in niche markets.

4. The team's demand positioning for the product: Maple Finance focuses on solving real problems rather than blindly pursuing technological upgrades.

Investment Risk Warning

Despite the solid fundamentals of Maple Finance and the continuous rise in SYRUP prices, investors still need to be cautious. On-chain fund flows indicate that some early profit-takers may be exiting.

Data shows that in the past 90 days, the number of "smart money" holding SYRUP has decreased by over 83%, while the exchange SYRUP balance has increased by 96%. This may indicate that early capital is withdrawing.

At the same time, some large holders have begun to accumulate SYRUP, with whale holdings increasing by 116,000% over the past 90 days. This indicates that the market may be at a turning point of turnover and divergence.

Overall, the business model of Maple Finance aligns with current market trends and has significant growth potential. However, at any given point in time, taking a wait-and-see approach may be a safer option. Investors should fully recognize the high-risk nature of the crypto market and make decisions cautiously.