Maple seeks ‘first mover’ status on Solana with US Treasury yield access

Maple Finance returned to Solana on Monday as it seeks to be a “first mover” by offering on-chain access to US Treasury bill yields on the network. 

The institutional capital marketplace’s cash management solution is designed for DAOs and other accredited investors to better manage treasury funds, according to Maple CEO Sid Powell.

Deposits can be made by such clients that hold the USDC-SPL token. The pool currently accepts deposits of USDC-SPL and passes yield sourced from one-month US Treasury bills — minus fees — to lenders.

Maple’s 15 lending pools have facilitated more than $2 billion in corporate loans since the company launched in May 2021. It launched on Solana last year, facilitating the issuance of roughly $125 million in loans on the blockchain before the development pause in December. 

Read more: Maple Finance scoops up lending protocol Avari to hasten launch on Solana

“Maple’s return to Solana signifies a strategic choice that goes beyond mere business considerations,” Powell told Blockworks. “Builders continue to launch new Solana protocols and investors continue to back them.”

The company sees a number of positive catalysts for Solana’s growth, Powell added, such as Firedancer, an independent validator client for the blockchain that is built by Jump. 

“As Solana continues to expand and attract new protocols, there is a growing need for products that can generate low-risk yield opportunities for stablecoins,” the Maple CEO said.

Others have sought to offer on-chain investors access to US Treasury yields. Adapt3r Digital launched a tokenized Treasury-focused fund on decentralized marketplace Archblock last week, while Ondo Finance introduced tokenized US Treasurys and bond offerings in January.

The Solana re-launch comes after Maple introduced its cash management pool in April. It has since attracted about $27 million in deposits and pays roughly 4.7% to participants including UXD Protocol, Relm Insurance and Altitude Fi.

The company’s cash management solution opened to US accredited investors and other entities earlier this month.  

Maple on Tuesday revealed it had closed a $5 million funding round led by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital. The capital is set to help it expand to the Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, the company said in a statement.

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