Maple Finance Now Accepts EtherFi’s weETH as Collateral
Maple Finance, one of the bigger names in decentralized lending, just added a new option for institutional borrowers. Starting today, they’ll accept EtherFi’s weETH—a token tied to restaked Ethereum—as collateral for loans. It’s a move that could make it easier for big players to borrow against their staked ETH without losing out on rewards.
The details? Loans will be in USDC, with a minimum size of $5 million and a two-month term. Borrowers have to put up more collateral than the loan amount, which isn’t surprising. There’s also a limited-time perk: a 2% APY rebate in ETHFI tokens for the first $50 million borrowed.
Why This Matters
For institutions deep in Ethereum’s staking economy, this could be useful. Restaking has gone from something only hardcore DeFi users cared about to a pretty big deal. EtherFi’s weETH, for example, already has over $5.3 billion in supply and more than 65,000 holders. About three-quarters of it is already being used as collateral elsewhere, like on Aave.
Maple’s CEO, Sid Powell, put it bluntly: “Restaking isn’t just some niche thing anymore. It’s becoming a core part of how Ethereum works.” He’s betting that funds and treasuries will jump at the chance to borrow against their staked ETH without dealing with extra headaches.
And honestly, he might be right. If you’re sitting on a pile of staked ETH, why sell it when you can just borrow against it instead?
Bigger Trends at Play
This isn’t Maple’s first move into staking-related lending. Just two weeks ago, they teamed up with Lido Finance to offer credit lines backed by stETH. Lido’s the biggest player in liquid staking, with over $22 billion locked up, so that partnership wasn’t exactly small either.
But the EtherFi deal feels like part of a larger shift. Maple’s been on a roll this year—its total value locked (TVL) has shot up by more than $2 billion since January. Their native token, SYRUP, has seen a decent bump too, up about 25% in the past week and 70% over the last month.
Still, it’s worth remembering that this is all happening in a space that’s still figuring itself out. Restaking is hot right now, but it’s also complicated. And while Maple’s making big moves, not everyone’s convinced that staking should be this tightly woven into lending.
For now, though, the demand seems to be there. And if institutions keep piling in, this might just be the start.
