Kraken expands OTC lending through an onchain warehouse facility with Maple

Crypto exchange Kraken is working with decentralized lender Maple to build an onchain warehouse facility for its digital asset-backed loans.

The facility will help power Kraken's over-the-counter lending program used by institutional and wealthy crypto clients, where they can borrow USDC by posting their BTC, ETH, and other crypto as collateral.

Maple’s scalable "warehouse facility," essentially a revolving line of funding, is modeled on the asset-backed securities (ABS) used in traditional credit markets, including for auto loans and mortgages.

"The infrastructure that powers a multi-trillion-dollar ABS market in traditional finance has never existed onchain, until now,” Maple CEO Sidney Powell said. “This Facility applies that model to digital asset collateral in a fully onchain environment, with the structural protections institutions actually require."

According to the announcement, Maple will provide senior financing through a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV), a special legal entity designed so that if something goes wrong with Maple or Kraken, the assets in the facility are protected.

Kraken, meanwhile, will act as loan originator, seller, servicer, and junior lender, taking a first-loss position to eat any losses before Maple’s side. The Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI), Kraken Financial, will also hold the underlying collateral.

Zaria, an independent SPV administrator, will serve as the administrative agent, according to the announcement.

"Our clients want access to the same capital formation tools that have powered traditional credit markets for decades," Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said. "This facility enables institutions and crypto holders to access liquidity without selling their assets, creating new ways for digital assets to be used within the financial system."

In an example of "aligning incentives," the announcement notes the warehousing setup will enable Kraken to grow its institutional lending business more efficiently without tying up its own balance sheet, while Maple lenders get access to "senior, overcollateralized yield backed by BTC and ETH collateral, a new asset class within Maple's earn product suite, with collateral balances and loan performance verifiable onchain in real time."

Founded in 2019, Maple is a leading onchain asset management and institutional lending platform that focuses on institutional-grade overcollateralized loans. Lenders, including institutions and retail via products like syrupUSDC, supply capital, while Maple facilitates loans to vetted institutional borrowers.

Kraken, which has been in the OTC lending business for a number of years, launched a specialized crypto-secured lending and borrowing service called Flexline earlier this year.

"By bringing proven credit infrastructure to onchain finance, we can improve capital efficiency, expand access to credit, and unlock greater utility for digital asset holders seeking financing for everyday needs and larger investment opportunities alike," Sethi said. 

Kraken parent Payward is in the process of going public. The firm filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC in November, originally targeting Q1 2026, though no updated date has been offered. Late last year, Kraken raised $800 million across two tranches from backers including Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, Tribe Capital, and Citadel, among others, at a $20 billion valuation.