Kraken is collaborating with decentralized credit platform Maple Finance to build an on-chain warehouse facility for digital asset-backed loans. The new setup will support Kraken’s over-the-counter (OTC) lending program, targeting institutional and high-net-worth clients who can borrow USDC by posting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other crypto assets as collateral.
Under the partnership, Maple Finance will supply senior financing through a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV), while Kraken will act as the loan originator, seller, servicer, and junior lender, absorbing the first-loss position. This structure shields Maple’s senior capital from Kraken’s business risks and grants Maple investors access to an overcollateralized yield product backed by BTC and ETH. Collateral balances and loan performance will be verifiable on-chain in real time, offering lenders full transparency.
Kraken Financial, the exchange’s Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, will custody the collateral, and Zaria will serve as SPV administrator. Maple CEO Sidney Powell noted that the facility adapts traditional asset-backed securities infrastructure—similar to warehouse lines used for auto loans and mortgages—to the blockchain, calling it a first for on-chain finance.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi emphasized that the facility lets institutions and crypto holders access liquidity without selling their assets. The collaboration arrives amid rising institutional demand for crypto-secured lending, with the aim of bridging centralized exchange services and DeFi transparency. Kraken recently launched Flexline, a crypto-backed lending and borrowing service, and its parent company Payward filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC in November, though no updated IPO timeline has been given.
