Crypto market maker Auros misses $7.5 million Maple Finance loan repayment

Quick Take

  • Crypto market making firm Auros has missed a scheduled repayment for a $7.5 million stablecoin loan on Maple Finance.
  • Previously, Auros also missed repayments after it borrowed 8,400 wrapped ether (WETH) worth $10.8 million.

Crypto market making firm Auros failed to make a repayment on a $7.5 million stablecoin loan from uncollateralized lending platform Maple Finance, according to security and analytics firm PeckShield. Auros borrowed these assets from Maple Finance delegate M11.

Auros filed for bankruptcy protection in the British Virgin Islands last month after losing access to about $20 million of funds it held on the collapsed crypto exchange FTX. A spokesman for Auros declined to comment on its Maple loans. 

Previously, Auros also missed repayments after it borrowed 8,400 wrapped ether (WETH) worth $10.8 million, according to The Block Research.

Maple Finance runs as a decentralized protocol that lets firms access loans without collateral. The platform has continued to suffer from contagion risk from the fallout related to the collapse of FTX. 

Auros not alone

Auros joins fellow market maker Orthogonal Trading which defaulted on a Maple Finance loan. Just like Auros, Orthogonal had funds frozen on FTX. 

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“The fallout of FTX has caused an industry-wide credit crunch which has negatively impacted many market participants,” noted Arnold Toh, research analyst at The Block.

Recently, Maple updated its protocol to a second version aimed at opening up the lending platform to a wider range of institutional borrowers, including those from outside the crypto industry. With the new update, called Maple 2.0, the team hopes to reduce the risks by diversifying the quality of borrowers using its platform.

A previous version of the article inaccurately stated the Auros loan was defaulted. Technically, the loan was described as "impaired" by Maple. 

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.

 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Vishal Chawla is The Block’s crypto ecosystems editor and has spent over six years covering tech protocols, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Vishal likes to delve deep into blockchain intricacies to ensure readers are well-informed about the continuously evolving crypto landscape. He is also a staunch advocate for rigorous security practices in the space. Before joining The Block, Vishal held positions at IDG ComputerWorld, CIO, and Crypto Briefing. He can be reached on Twitter at @vishal4c and via email at [email protected]

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