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In this edition, we’re covering SyrupUSDC Q2 Performance Report, a comprehensive breakdown of one of the most compelling growth stories in DeFi right now. If you're looking to understand where Maple stands today and where it’s headed next, this report has everything you need.

You can read it in full below or download the PDF version here. 

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Let’s get into it.

In Q2, Maple sustained its remarkable growth, with SyrupUSDC, its flagship product, delivering returns that outpaced most competitors. This report reviews SyrupUSDC’s performance, compares it to similar assets, and examines the strategies it supports along with the risks involved.

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

Check out our Maple Quarterly Report, done in collaboration with OAK Research.

Key Takeaways

• Market Outperformance: SyrupUSDC delivered 1.6% returns over the quarter, outpacing Aave (0.85%) and Ethena (1.29%) on a risk-adjusted basis.

• Institutional Confidence: Spark increased its allocation to SyrupUSDC while scaling back sUSDe, citing yield stability and lower perceived risk.

• Risk Premium Decline: Growing trust and flawless risk management have narrowed SyrupUSDC’s yield spread versus Aave.

• Yield Enhancement Opportunities: Integrations with Pendle, Kamino, and Morpho enable fixed APYs and leveraged yield strategies.

Context About SyrupUSDC

Launched in 2021, Maple is an onchain asset manager, offering secure yield solutions for both institutional players and individual users.

During the second quarter of 2025, Maple underwent a rebranding and consolidated all its products under a single unified brand, better reflecting the protocol’s identity and strategic focus that has been taking shape over the past several months.

Maple users can access products through two main channels:

• Institutional: Access requires KYC and a dedicated onboarding process (legal documentation, due diligence, etc.). The flagship products include Blue Chip Secured Lending, High Yield Secured Lending, and BTC Yield.

• Individual: Permissionless access to institutional-grade yield through SyrupUSDC and lstBTC soon.

This report aims to assess SyrupUSDC’s performance, benchmark it against comparable assets, and explore the strategies it enables, alongside its associated risks.

SyrupUSDC is a liquid yielding dollar that generates consistent high returns through exposure to institutional credit markets. Yield is sourced from interest payments made by large, creditworthy institutional borrowers who access capital via Maple Finance. These borrowers collateralize their loans against high-quality digital assets while lenders, SyrupUSDC holders, receive the interest income.

The loans issued through Maple are short in duration, which allows for dynamic rate adjustments and consistent yield delivery. These loans are also backed with an overcollateralization ratio of 160%, and are underwritten by institutions with robust balance sheets. 

This structural rigor enables SyrupUSDC to offer competitive returns while maintaining a risk-conscious profile. Since its launch, SyrupUSDC has consistently delivered superior real USDC yield compared to most of the competition which explains why Syrup had so much growth recently. 

Key Metrics – Q2 Performance

SyrupUSDC TVL Growth

SyrupUSDC experienced exceptional growth in Q2, becoming the third-largest yield-bearing stablecoin with a market cap of $903M by quarter-end. This momentum was fueled by integrations with leading DeFi protocols on Ethereum, a major allocation from Spark, and the successful launch on Solana.

SyrupUSDC DeFi Integrations

SyrupUSDC experienced exceptional growth in Q2, becoming the third-largest yield-bearing stablecoin with a market cap of $903M by quarter-end. This momentum was fueled by integrations with leading DeFi protocols on Ethereum, a major allocation from Spark, and the successful launch on Solana.

SyrupUSDC in DeFi Markets

Its strong adoption across protocols such as Pendle, Morpho, and Euler contributed significantly to its growth, alongside a substantial allocation from Spark, We will revisit Spark, which recently reduced its USDe allocation while increasing its investment in SyrupUSDC, viewing it as a more stable source of yield.

Additionally, ARFC proposal is live in Aave governance to onboard SyrupUSDC as a collateral asset on Aave V3, a potential catalyst for further growth in Q3.

SyrupUSDC as a cross-chain asset

Since June 5, 2025, SyrupUSDC has been available and mintable on Solana through a partnership with Chainlink. This launch played a significant role in SyrupUSDC’s impressive Q2 growth.

The partnership with Kamino has been the primary driver of SyrupUSDC’s success on Solana. This makes SyrupUSDC one of the most actively utilized assets on the network, particularly through Kamino Multiply, where users can deposit SyrupUSDC as collateral and borrow against it. 

SyrupUSDC Relative Performance

When comparing the returns of investing an equal dollar amount at the beginning of Q2, SyrupUSDC clearly outperformed its peers, delivering a 1.6% return over the period. For comparison, Aave’s yield, often used as a benchmark, returned 0.85%, while Ethena delivered 1.29%.

Despite the fact that loan growth lagged behind TVL growth, which has put some downward pressure on yields, SyrupUSDC still outperformed the competition this quarter. Notably, it also outperformed in Q1, demonstrating consistent relative strength.

Yield Stability and Risk-Adjusted Performance

This quarter showed a slight downward trend in USDC yields, as illustrated in the graph. While SyrupUSDC’s yield did decline modestly, it delivered more consistent returns compared to other DeFi yield options, with a standard deviation of just 0.27% over the quarter. In contrast, Aave’s yield showed a standard deviation of 0.64%, and Ethena’s was more volatile at 1.20%.

This level of predictability and consistency is key. A smoother return profile, combined with a higher overall yield, translates into stronger risk-adjusted performance. This explains Spark’s recent decision to increase its SyrupUSDC allocation while reducing its sUSDe allocation. Let's break it down. 

Spark Choosing SyrupUSDC over sUSDe ? 

The Spark Liquidity Layer actively allocates stablecoin liquidity across DeFi protocols (over $3B deployed) to generate yield, while maintaining robust risk controls. The yield generated is reinvested to strengthen the protocol and distributed to stablecoin depositors.  

Maple, via SyrupUSDC, currently represents 15% of the Spark Liquidity Layer’s allocation, ranking 4th, just behind Ethena at 21%. However, Maple may surpass Ethena, as Spark has begun scaling back its exposure to Ethena’s yield-bearing assets, such as sUSDe and USDe. 

Here is the explanation: 

“Maple has continued to provide a stable, healthy risk adjusted return over the past weeks, with the collateral pool heavily weighted towards lower risk BTC backed loans. We plan to increase allocation to this asset to take advantage of the continued strength of the offchain collateralized lending market.

While Ethena has provided strong returns in the past weeks, we are beginning to see weakness in the funding rate environment and expect the upcoming weekly rate print to be far below our target hurdle rate. We plan to fully unwind our Ethena exposure and wait for rates to improve again before redepositing.”

SyrupUSDC Risk Premium is decreasing

This is one of the most interesting point of the quarter. We can clearly observe a declining risk premium for SyrupUSDC relative to Aave, which is widely regarded as the benchmark for the safest USDC yield. This suggests that market confidence in Maple is growing, with users increasingly willing to accept a lower yield in exchange for what they now perceive as lower risk.

Several factors help explain this shift in sentiment:

• Institutional engagements with firms like Bitwise and Cantor signal strong external validation. These deals involve deep due diligence by top-tier counterparties, which meaningfully reduces perceived risk for lenders.

• Flawless risk management during multiple liquidation events. Maple has handled these scenarios with no disruptions, reinforcing trust in the platform’s operational resilience.

• Instant liquidity on SyrupUSDC, allowing users to withdraw funds quickly and efficiently. This liquidity feature materially reduces the perceived risk associated with locking capital.

• Brand momentum. Maple’s visibility and recognition have grown significantly this quarter, bringing greater awareness and confidence from both retail and institutional participants.

Other factors may also contribute to the decreasing risk premium, but these are the key drivers. For further insight, don’t miss Martin’s perspective, Head of Growth at Maple, at the end of this report.

SyrupUSDC Yield Decreasing 

The yield on SyrupUSDC has been decreasing a bit, as deposits are growing faster than the number of loans generating yield.

According to Martin de Rijke, this decline is perfectly normal and is primarily due to the reduction of the risk premium. When a new yield-bearing asset is launched, it typically offers a higher yield to compensate for the early uncertainty. As the asset matures and gains credibility and trust, the risk premium naturally decreases, which leads to lower yields.

In his view, the most relevant metric to track is not necessarily the yield itself, but the level of deposits in SyrupUSDC. These deposits continue to increase, indicating that users are still satisfied with the yield being offered.

Pendle Integration 

The beauty of DeFi is that, even when yields decline while still outperforming peers, various integrations allow users to further enhance their returns. Pendle is a prime example: by purchasing PT on Pendle, you can lock in a fixed 8.75% APY. From there, you can borrow against your PT on platforms like Euler or Morpho to loop the position and amplify your yield.

For those speculating on the yield itself, buying YT lets you increase your exposure to DRIPS by up to 5×. A few months ago, we shared a SyrupUSDC YT strategy that achieved around 20% ROI in less than 3 months. Check it out here.

Final Thoughts 

Q2 was a defining quarter for Maple and SyrupUSDC. Beyond delivering another period of outperformance against DeFi yield peers, SyrupUSDC demonstrated a rare combination of yield consistency, growing institutional adoption, and expanding DeFi integrations. The launch on Solana, the strategic allocation shift by Spark, and a shrinking risk premium all underscore a market that increasingly views SyrupUSDC as a reliable, lower-risk source of return.

While headline yields have trended slightly lower, this is a natural consequence of reduced risk perception and rising demand, healthy signs for the long-term sustainability of the product. Moreover, the breadth of integrations, from Pendle to Kamino, offers users the flexibility to amplify returns or tailor strategies to their risk appetite.

With Maple now the largest onchain asset manager, momentum is firmly in its favor. If current trends persist, growing cross-chain presence, deeper institutional partnerships, and a stable yield profile, SyrupUSDC is well-positioned to cement its status as the benchmark for institutional-grade yield in DeFi.

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