thedefiant.io
Maple Finance unveiled today that it now accepts EtherFi’s weETH – a token that represents restaked Ethereum (ETH) – as collateral for institutional lending.
Maple is a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform with nearly $2.7 billion in total value locked (TVL), according to DeFiLlama. EtherFi is a liquid restaking protocol with $6.4 billion in TVL that allows users to stake ETH while maintaining liquidity.
The two leading DeFi protocols have partnered to let borrowers use weETH to get USDC loans, with a limited-time 2% APY rebate in ETHFI for the first $50 million in loans, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant.
Each loan must be at least $5 million, lasts for two months, and must be backed by more collateral than the loan amount. The release explains that the loans are “designed for allocators, treasuries, and professional market participants engaging in Ethereum’s evolving staking economy.”
This partnership marks a big step in connecting ETH staking with institutional lending. By accepting restaked tokens like weETH, Maple lets institutions borrow against their staked ETH without losing staking rewards.
EtherFi’s weETH is one of the most popular restaked assets in DeFi, with over $5.3 billion in supply and more than 65,000 holders, according to the press release, adding that around 75% of it is already being used as collateral on platforms like Aave.
“Restaking has moved from a niche experiment to a cornerstone of Ethereum’s evolving capital stack,” Maple CEO and co-founder Sid Powell told The Defiant. “With over $2 billion in assets under management, Maple will turn this momentum into real institutional activity.”
Powell said that by using weETH, investors can access cash without giving up their valuable, income-generating assets – and still earn ETHFI rewards.
“We’re seeing growing interest from funds and treasuries that want to tap into restaked assets without adding operational complexity,” he said. “This launch reflects our broader thesis: staking is not just a yield mechanism, it's foundational to how credit markets are formed and scaled on-chain.”
This move comes just two weeks after Maple announced a separate partnership with Lido Finance to offer stablecoin credit lines backed by staked Ether (stETH) collateral. Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol, with over $22 billion in TVL.
The new EtherFi integration builds on Maple’s strong momentum this year. The platform’s TVL has increased by more than $2 billion since January. Its native token, SYRUP, is trading at around $0.57, up 25% over the past week and over 70% in the last month.
