Maple CEO and co-founder Sid Powell has acquired the page from Wall Street and bring it in on the chain. His company is rethinking institutional financing with Crypto as a foundation, starting with Bitcoin.
In an interview with TheStreet Roundtable, Powell described this approach as “Asset-Clacked Lending On-Chain.” It has already attracted attention from wealthy individuals and fixed income investors.
Maple uses cryptos like Bitcoin as collateral to lend to institutions such as trading companies and hedge funds. The borrower gets a stubcoin sent directly to the wallet, and Maple holds collateral for the liquid digital assets. Investors then earn yields from these loans, similar to traditional credit markets.
Powell says unlike the private credit market, where loans are often unsecured and locked over the years, Maple offers something much more appealing.
This sounds familiar to those who have dealt with margin lending or pledge securities. However, Crypto has one major advantage. It’s fluidity.
“It takes six months to sell a house, but it takes several hours to sell $1 billion worth of Bitcoin,” Powell said. “If the loan gets sour, there are a lot of places (digital assets) I can sell.”
Combined with the collapse of crypto lenders such as Blockfi in 2022 and volatility in the crypto market, risk management is the biggest concern.
Maple deals with this with facility-grade custodians such as BITGO and Clear Margin Policy, offering yields on a liquid-backed safety net, comparable to high-yield credits.
“We spend a lot of time explaining how we manage our margins,” Powell pointed out. “If Bitcoin lowers its price, how long will you wait before selling your assets? How long will you give someone more collateral or pay off the loan?”
Powell’s vision goes beyond this product. He sees it as a stepping stone to compete with traditional financial giants like Apollo and Ares, and partners with companies like JP Morgan to distribute standardized Bitcoin-assisted securities to pension funds, marrying traditional financial stability and crypto speed.