Blockchain-based lending protocol Morpho said it raised $175 million in a funding round led by Paradigm, a16z crypto and Ribbit Capital as investors bet credit markets will increasingly move on-chain.
The round also included Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures, VanEck and Ledger Cathay, according to a post on the Morpho blog.
Morpho operates an open credit network that allows institutions and fintech companies to build lending products on blockchain rails. The protocol has more than $11 billion in deposits and is used by institutional clients including Bitwise, Galaxy and Anchorage Digital, as well as crypto exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Binance.
The increase highlights interest in blockchain-based financial infrastructure from banks, asset managers, and other traditional financial firms exploring tokenized assets and onchain settlement systems.
Unlike many crypto projects that seek to replace traditional finance, Morpho positions itself as an infrastructure provider that works with existing institutions. The company said its network can help unify fragmented lending markets and support programmable credit products at scale.
Morpho said it will use the funds to develop its institutional lending infrastructure to build programmable credit products.
