Welcome to the GLC Research Newsletter.

We’re a buyside crypto research firm focused on delivering clear, independent insights. We also collaborate with a few select projects to help improve transparency and reporting for stakeholders.

In this edition, we’re covering Maple’s Q3 Performance Report. If you're looking to understand where Maple stands today and where it’s headed next, this report has everything you need.

You can access the complete report on our website. We’ve also built a dashboard with Token Terminal that highlights all the key metrics in a concise, easy-to-digest format. Link here.

Let’s get into it.

Maple’s Q3 2025 report highlights another quarter of exceptional growth, with AUM up 66%, active loans rising 45%, and revenues reaching new highs. Maple continues to solidify its position as the leading onchain asset manager, driven by syrupUSDC(T)’s strong adoption and expanding integrations across DeFi.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s personal views and should not be relied upon as investment advice.

Discloser: Analysts behind this report owns $SYRUP & syrupUSDC. In addition, GLC is working with Maple as independent research partner. Full disclaimer and disclosure here.

This market report was prepared in collaboration with our partners OAK Research.

Key Takeaways

• Maple’s AUM grew 66% in Q3, reaching $4.19B and surpassing its initial 2025 target ahead of schedule.

• Active loans rose 45% to $1.75B, maintaining strong momentum despite slower origination cycles typical of institutional lending.

• Q3 revenue grew 41.5% to $4M, marking six straight months of record highs and supporting a $30M annualized revenue run rate.

• syrupUSDC outperformed peers with a 1.6% Q3 return and delivered ~6% YTD, combining high yield, low volatility, and expanding cross-chain adoption.

• Maple advanced key initiatives including its Plasma partnership, expansion in Asia, launch of Maple Kit, and an enhanced SYRUP token buyback program.

Maple’s Key Metrics – Q3 Performance

Maple’s AUM Performance 

Maple continued to deliver strong growth in the third quarter, consolidating its position as the leading onchain asset manager.

• Q3 AUM growth: +66.4%, increasing from $2.52 billion to $4.19 billion

• Year-to-date AUM growth: +816% (≃29% average MoM growth)

This result builds on an already exceptional trajectory: +54% in Q1 and +257% in Q2. By the end of the third quarter, Maple had already surpassed its initial year-end target of $4 billion AUM. As a result, management has revised the objective to $6 billion AUM by year-end.

To achieve this target, Maple must maintain an average monthly growth rate of 11.4% over the remaining months. Given the protocol’s track record of delivering ~29% monthly growth year-to-date, this new target appears within reach.

It is particularly impressive to observe such growth given that Maple allocates only 5 to 10 million dollars annually in incentives, a fraction of what many other DeFi protocols spend to attract deposits. Maple remains one of the few protocols generating positive cash flows, even after accounting for incentive distributions.

Growth in AUM this quarter was primarily driven by:

• syrupUSDC (+$965M), Maple’s flagship yield-bearing dollar,

• syrupUSDT (+$492M), reintroduced with the launch of Plasma, and

• High Yield Secured (+$151M), Maple’s institutional product. 

Maple’s Active Loans Performance

As an onchain asset manager focused on institutional credit markets, Maple’s revenue model is primarily driven by interest payments from institutional borrowers. Accordingly, the performance of active loans is a critical metric alongside AUM.

• Q3 Active Loans growth: +45.2%, expanding from $1.20 billion to $1.75 billion

As in prior quarters, loan origination growth lags behind AUM expansion. As highlighted in the previous quarterly report by Martin de Rijke, Head of Growth, this lag is both structural and expected.

• Deposits vs. Loans: Capital inflows from depositors can be executed within minutes, while institutional loan originations of comparable scale require extensive due diligence, legal documentation, and negotiation.

• Liquidity Buffer: Maple maintains a liquidity buffer of approximately $200 million to support immediate withdrawals by depositors.

Despite this structural gap, Maple’s active loan book has continued to expand at a strong pace, with an average monthly rate of 28.1% and an impressive year-to-date increase of 695%, supporting revenue growth and strengthening the protocol’s positioning in institutional lending.

Maple’s Revenue Growth and Monetization Rate

Maple’s revenue performance this year has been exceptional, driven primarily by the rapid adoption of syrupUSDC.

• Q3 revenue growth: +41.5%

• YTD revenue growth: +265%

• Average MoM revenue growth: +22%

Revenue for Q3 reached $4 million, or roughly $16 million annualized, with Maple showing no signs of slowing down. The quarter ended with a monthly revenue of $1.5 million, marking the sixth consecutive monthly ATH.

At the current 20% MoM growth rate, Maple would reach approximately $30 million in annualized revenue by year-end, which aligns with the team’s internal target. Based on the current market cap, this would imply a P/S ratio of around 14.

Several catalysts could help sustain or even accelerate this momentum:

• syrupUSDC integrations with AAVE and other DeFi protocols

• Early-stage growth of syrupUSDT

• Expansion into new product lines

At its current growth pace, Maple continues to exceed expectations and strengthen its position as one of the fastest-growing protocols in DeFi.

In addition, Maple’s revenue is tied to market conditions. Revenue is primarily generated through two channels: 

• fees collected as a percentage of interest paid by borrowers and,

• yield earned on collateral deployed across DeFi protocols.

We believe that the last quarter wasn’t the most favorable for Maple to fully capitalize on its TVL. Indeed, in past market expansion phases, Maple has tended to struggle as more capital flows into riskier assets. During Q3, rising prices also meant that the value of collateral held by Maple increased, causing TVL to appear “inflated” relative to active loans which give them the possibility to issue more loans too. This quarter reflected that dynamic, with active loans growing by 45% while TVL rose by 60%. That said, it’s a major achievement for Maple, as historically this hasn’t been the most favorable seasonality for them.

Another factor contributing to the slight decline in the monetization rate is the decrease in Maple’s risk premium. As confidence in the protocol continues to grow, investors are associating less risk with Maple. Moreover, syrupUSDC’s integrations with money markets have encouraged some users to adopt looping strategies to further enhance returns. As a result, TVL growth is outpacing active loan growth, which impacts the monetization rate since Maple primarily earns from interest payments on active loans.

Looking at the monetization ratio based on active loans, which are Maple’s primary source of revenue, the ratio has remained relatively stable, except in July when active loans declined. The median stands around 135 bps, with Maple ending the quarter at 126 bps.

syrupUSDC Q3 Relative Performance

Maple’s core product, syrupUSDC, delivered strong performance once again this quarter. When comparing the returns of investing an equal dollar amount at the beginning of Q3, syrupUSDC outperformed its peers, delivering a 1.6% return over the period. For comparison, Aave’s yield, often used as a benchmark, returned around 1%.  Obviously, it’s a different product, it’s normal to have such a difference.

Ethena’s sUSDe yield was on par with syrupUSDC’s, and both outperformed the rest of the market (around 1,2%).

Yield Stability and Risk-Adjusted Performance

This quarter marked another strong performance for syrupUSDC, which continues to position itself as one of the most reliable and efficient yield-bearing dollar in DeFi.

Yields improved across the board this quarter, and syrupUSDC was no exception, with returns increasing from 1.63% in Q2 to 1.68% in Q3. 

What stands out even more is that syrupUSDC has now outperformed Ethena’s sUSDe year-to-date, delivering around 6% compared to 5.5%, while remaining more stable throughout the market. Although sUSDe is widely viewed as one of the best-performing yield-bearing stablecoins, syrupUSDC has quietly surpassed it this year combining competitive returns with consistency.

Volatility for syrupUSDC was only 0.24% this quarter, compared to 1.81% for sUSDe, underscoring how smooth and predictable its return profile has been. This blend of high yield, low volatility, and growing adoption continues to strengthen syrupUSDC’s position as one of the most trusted yield assets in DeFi.

syrupUSDC Risk Premium is decreasing

One of the most notable developments this quarter is the continued decline in syrupUSDC’s yield premium. 

This comparison is made against Aave’s USDC yield, which is often regarded as the DeFi market’s risk-free rate. The narrowing spread between the two suggests that investors increasingly view syrupUSDC as a lower-risk yield instrument. Investors are increasingly willing to accept lower yields on syrupUSDC. Another factor contributing to this trend is its integration into money markets, where users can incorporate syrupUSDC into broader DeFi strategies, take on higher risk to earn higher returns.

We highlighted this at the end of our Q2 report in the discussion section with Martin, Head of Growth at Maple, and it has indeed proven true in Q3: the yield premium continued to decline. It appears to be a very positive thing for Maple. 

Maple’s Q3 Product Performance

As the largest onchain asset manager, Maple’s objective is to build a comprehensive suite of asset management products designed to support a wide range of assets, both those already available and those expected to be introduced in the near future.

Currently, Maple’s offering centers around three flagship products: Maple Institutional, the BTC Yield product, and syrupUSDC(T), which exists in two versions: syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT.

Consistent with previous quarters, the majority of Maple’s growth in Q3 was driven by syrupUSDC(T), the protocol’s core yield-bearing dollar. The key difference this quarter was the resurgence of syrupUSDT, fueled by the long-awaited launch of Plasma, which has significantly increased demand for the USDT version.

Maple’s core product: syrupUSDC(T)

As previously discussed, syrupUSDC(T) is Maple’s flagship product. It is a yield-bearing dollar, available in two versions (USDT and USDC), that allows depositors to earn a high and consistent return through a liquid asset that can be deployed across most major money markets.

The yield is generated from interest payments made by institutional borrowers. Loans issued through Maple’s lending platform are typically short-term and high-yield, providing syrupUSDC(T) with a source of returns that is both elevated and remarkably stable. This structure makes syrupUSDC(T) a unique and resilient product within the DeFi landscape.

• syrupUSDC 

Since the beginning of the year, Maple’s strategic focus has been on scaling syrupUSDC, which has experienced exceptional growth from 155 million dollars in AUM in January to more than 2.9 billion dollars as of this report. This milestone cements syrupUSDC as the third-largest yield-bearing stablecoin in the market, behind only sUSDe (Ethena) and sUSDS (Spark).

This growth has been supported by deep integrations across major DeFi protocols including Morpho, Pendle, and Euler, as well as by Maple’s ongoing multi-chain expansion.

syrupUSDC is now live on Ethereum, Solana (since Q2) and Arbitrum (since Q3). This cross-chain presence is a major strategic advantage. It expands access to institutional-grade yield for new users while enabling existing users to seamlessly navigate and capture the most attractive DeFi opportunities across ecosystems.

At the time of writing, the total supply of syrupUSDC stands at 1.297 billion dollars, distributed across three chains as follows: 78.32% on Ethereum, 15.67% on Solana, and 6.01% on Arbitrum.

On ethereum:

During the quarter, the share of syrupUSDC deployed across Ethereum-based money markets such as Morpho, Pendle, and Euler declined slightly, while Spark increased its allocation by an additional 200 million dollars into Maple’s yield-bearing dollar.

Spark’s total allocation now stands at 630 million dollars. syrupUSDC currently accounts for 18.79% of the Spark Liquidity Layer, making it the second-largest position.

During the quarter, Spark fully withdrew its allocation from Ethena’s sUSDe and subsequently increased its exposure to syrupUSDC. This reallocation reflects a strong vote of confidence in Maple’s yield-bearing dollar and underscores its growing credibility within DeFi’s institutional segment.

Here is the Spark explanation.

On Solana: 

Deployed on Solana in June, syrupUSDC experienced strong growth during the third quarter, with supply increasing from approximately 50 million dollars to more than 200 million dollars, representing 14.26% of syrupUSDC’s total cross-chain supply. This significant expansion was driven primarily by the launch of Jupiter Lend, which alone attracted over $100M in syrupUSDC deposits.

syrupUSDC is now the largest yield-bearing dollar asset on Solana with over $200M in supply.

The growing enthusiasm on Solana is understandable, as it currently offers some of the most attractive DeFi yield opportunities for syrupUSDC holders. At the time of writing, the maximum APY exceeds 30% on platforms such as Jupiter Lend and Kamino. 

On Arbitrum: 

Deployed on Arbitrum during the third quarter, syrupUSDC has shown impressive early growth, reaching over $85 million in supply, which now represents 6.83% of syrupUSDC’s total cross-chain supply.

This momentum was further supported by The DRIP (DeFi Renaissance Incentive Program), an initiative designed to stimulate DeFi activity across the Arbitrum ecosystem. The program will distribute 80 million ARB tokens over four seasons to enhance yields and liquidity across integrated DeFi protocols, including Euler, Morpho, and Aave.

The campaign has already delivered strong results for syrupUSDC, attracting approximately 111.5 million dollars in TVL through DRIP-related incentives across multiple lending/borrowing markets, most notably on Morpho and Fluid.

If you’re interested, here’s the link to Arbitrum’s DRIP campaign.

• syrupUSDT

While syrupUSDC delivered another strong performance this quarter, it was syrupUSDT that truly stood out. The turnaround was driven by the highly anticipated launch of Plasma, a protocol backed by Tether, which provided the ideal foundation for Maple to reintroduce the USDT version of its yielding dollar. syrupUSDT grew by 342.3% during the quarter, rising from 143.82 million dollars to 636.15 million dollars in AUM, making it Maple’s fastest-growing product in Q3.

At the time of writing, approximately 348 million dollars of syrupUSDT are deployed on Plasma, accounting for 46% of syrupUSDT’s total supply.

Maple Institutional

Maple Institutional is the permissioned branch of Maple, designed to provide authorized counterparties with access to overcollateralized lending opportunities. The yield generated for lenders comes from interest payments made by institutional borrowers, with each borrower undergoing extensive due diligence and collateral evaluation to ensure credit quality and capital preservation.

The product line currently includes two offerings:

• Blue Chip: This strategy targets a yield premium of approximately 200 to 400 basis points above U.S. Treasury yields on USDC. Loans are collateralized exclusively by ETH and BTC, minimizing liquidation risk and ensuring conservative credit exposure.

• High Yield: This product offers higher returns to lenders in exchange for additional risk, as it accepts a broader range of collateral assets such as weETH (Ether.Fi), HYPE, and mSOL.

While Maple Institutional is developing at a steadier pace than the permissionless syrupUSDC(T) segment, its growth remains robust. The platform recorded 28% growth in Q3 and 187% year-to-date, closing the quarter with 721 million dollars in AUM, steadily progressing toward its 1 billion dollar year-end target.

SYRUP Token Analysis: Holders, Volume, and Price Trends

As discussed earlier, Maple delivered strong growth in both protocol metrics and revenue during the third quarter. It is therefore relevant to assess whether this momentum was also reflected in the performance of its native token, SYRUP.

Investor Adoption

SYRUP continued to expand its investor base in Q3, recording a 28.9% increase in holders, reaching approximately 13,400 addresses by the end of the quarter. This represents a remarkable 378.6% growth year-to-date, up from only 2,800 holders at the beginning of the year.

Trading activity also remained solid, with total quarterly trading volume increasing 23.2% compared to Q2. However, on a monthly basis, volumes have been trending downward since the July peak, which coincided with SYRUP’s all-time high price of $0.67. This moderation in trading activity has followed the same pattern as the token’s price consolidation.

$SYRUP’s Price Performance

Q3 marked SYRUP’s weakest quarter in terms of price performance, declining 27.98% over the three-month period and posting the lowest relative performance among its peer group. However, this short-term pullback should be viewed in context rather than in isolation.

Earlier this year, Maple’s protocol metrics expanded significantly while SYRUP’s valuation initially lagged. It was only in Q2 that the token experienced a sharp repricing, reaching a “fair value” (very subjective) identified in our May 19, 2025 investment thesis. This repricing was further supported by listings on major centralized exchanges (CEXs), which addressed one of SYRUP’s key historical limitations: restricted liquidity and accessibility. 

Q3 can therefore be interpreted as a natural cooldown period following an exceptional rally in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Maple’s underlying protocol metrics, including AUM and active loans, have continued to grow sharply, reinforcing the protocol’s fundamental strength.

Outlook

At the time of writing, SYRUP is trading around $0.40, roughly the same level as in May, even though Maple now manages three times more AUM and active loans than at that time. This disconnect between protocol performance and token valuation suggests potential for repricing as fundamentals continue to strengthen.

We are currently working on a new investment thesis for SYRUP, incorporating the protocol’s recent growth trajectory and its anticipated expansion in the coming quarters.

Valuation is inherently subjective, and this reflects solely our perspective.

Interview: Maple’s Q3 Growth Strategy & Institutional Focus 

As part of our quarterly report, we spoke with Martin de Rijke, Head of Growth at Maple, to discuss the protocol’s strong Q3 performance, recent developments, and strategic outlook for the months ahead.

Below is a summary of the key takeaways from our conversation. The full interview will be published in the coming days.

Exceptional Q3 performance driven by multi-chain expansion

Despite a bullish market environment that typically weighs on DeFi activity, Maple delivered strong growth across all core metrics in Q3. The protocol’s multi-chain strategy proved highly effective, with particularly strong traction on Solana, where syrupUSDC became the largest yield-bearing dollar asset. Expansion to Arbitrum and Plasma also helped attract new users and boost AUM. As a result, Maple’s brand perception has evolved from a solid to a leading DeFi Brand.

A stickier and more resilient capital base

Martin highlighted that Maple’s capital base has become significantly more stable compared to previous cycles. Outflows are now minimal, with Maple seeing only a 3% outflow during the latest market correction, quickly offset by new inflows. This stability reflects growing user confidence, enhanced by new integrations such as Pendle pools, DeFi loopings on Money Markets like Kamino and Jupiter and Perps collateral on Drift, which have expanded use cases and yield opportunities up to 30%.

syrupUSDT poised to overtake syrupUSDC

One of the most notable developments for Q4 is the rapid growth of syrupUSDT, which Martin expects to surpass syrupUSDC. The partnership with Plasma is a key catalyst, unlocking large pools of idle USDT on the chain. Additionally, Maple’s upcoming integration with Aave should accelerate adoption further, as USDT remains the most widely used stablecoin in DeFi.

Lower monetization rate reflects confidence and capital efficiency

While the monetization rate declined slightly in Q3, this was mainly due to asset appreciation and overcollateralization rather than weaker performance. As Maple’s reputation and trust have grown, signaling a more mature and stable lending environment. The core monetization ratio based on active loans has remained strong and consistent.

Final Thoughts

Q3 2025 marked another exceptional quarter for Maple, confirming its evolution from a strong DeFi brand into a leading onchain asset manager. With AUM up 66%, active loans rising 45%, and revenues reaching new highs, Maple continues to demonstrate both operational discipline and sustainable growth.

This quarter’s results confirm the strength of Maple’s core business model, focused on delivering institutional-grade credit products onchain while maintaining financial efficiency and positive cash flows. The success of syrupUSDC and the resurgence of syrupUSDT, together with the steady expansion of Maple Institutional, highlight the protocol’s ability to scale responsibly across diverse markets and investor segments.

Beyond the financial performance, Maple has continued to execute strategically, expanding into Asia, deepening integrations across Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum, and forming key partnerships such as Plasma. These initiatives strengthen Maple’s ecosystem and reinforce its leadership in the growing market for tokenized credit.

Looking ahead, Maple enters Q4 with strong momentum and solid fundamentals. With multiple catalysts on the horizon, including the Aave integration, and continued product innovation, the company is on track to reach its 6 billion dollar AUM year-end target and further consolidate its position as the leading onchain asset manager.

As Maple continues to expand globally, the team remains focused on its mission: bridging institutional finance and decentralized markets through transparency, discipline, and innovation.

Hope you enjoyed reading this quarterly report.

Don’t forget to check out our website to access more research.

If you found it valuable, feel free to share it with others and follow us on X. You can also join our free Telegram group, we’re always up for thoughtful discussions and idea-sharing with the community.

Stay tuned, more in-depth insights are coming your way soon.