On-chain asset manager Maple Finance has expanded its yield-bearing stablecoin, syrupUSDC, to Coinbase's Base network, a fast-growing Ethereum Layer-2. The launch, announced on Thursday, aims to bring institutional-grade credit infrastructure directly into the Base ecosystem, providing a "direct path" to Coinbase's extensive user base and product suite.
Maple's CEO, Sid Powell, emphasized that the products are built on "overcollateralized loans" with real-time collateral tracking, offering strong downside protection and sustainable yields. He characterized Base as a "key next step" for Maple due to its distribution power and rapid DeFi growth, stating that syrupUSDC "thrives in these conditions."
Concurrently, a governance proposal is live within the Aave community to onboard syrupUSDC as collateral on the Aave V3 Base Instance. Powell noted that an Aave listing would "boost" the token's growth further. Aave is the largest lending protocol in crypto, with over $33.4 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL). Maple has already seen significant adoption on other networks; the syrupUSDC supply surpassed $1 billion during its Arbitrum rollout in September 2025.
The integration leverages Chainlink infrastructure to support interoperability between Ethereum and Base, enabling syrupUSDC to function as composable collateral across various DeFi strategies. Maple has implemented several risk guardrails, including overcollateralized loan books, real-time collateral monitoring, defined margin call thresholds, and adherence to Aave's loan-to-value limits to cap user leverage.
Jesse Pollak, creator of Base, stated that building an open, global on-chain economy requires the "best possible collateral and financial primitives," and that Maple offers "institutional-grade infrastructure" that strengthens Base's DeFi stack. This move is part of a broader trend where institutional-style yield products are migrating from Ethereum mainnet to more user-friendly Layer-2 networks.
The news unfolds against a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty in the U.S., specifically concerning the CLARITY Act. The banking lobby is opposing the bill, fearing that yield-bearing stablecoins could drain trillions in traditional bank deposits as investors seek higher returns—often above 4%—compared to minimal interest from checking accounts.
