What Lies Ahead for Maple in 2026.

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In this edition, we cover Maple’s Q4 Ecosystem Call, providing a comprehensive summary of the team’s latest insights into 2026 and beyond. For anyone seeking a clear understanding of where Maple stands today and where the project is headed next, this analysis offers a complete overview.

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

Discloser: Analyst behind this research owns $SYRUP. Full disclaimer and disclosure here.

The crypto market has been trending downward in recent weeks. Maple Finance, which initially stood out as one of the strongest performers during the early stages of the correction, has ultimately been affected as well. The ongoing dispute with Core certainly did not help sentiment.

We will not dwell on this dispute, as the legal process will address it far more effectively. What we can assert is our full support for Maple. 

It is also important to emphasize that the dispute concerns only the BTC product, which represents approximately $150M in AuM, or about 3% of Maple’s total assets. Their flagship products, syrupUSDC & syrupUSDT, are completely unaffected and continue to deliver strong, consistent yield.

This episode does not diminish the exceptional work delivered by Maple in 2025, a true breakout year during which they scaled from $500M to $4.5B in AuM, becoming the largest on-chain asset manager.

What Happened in 2025?

The crypto lending market doubled this year, growing from $36B to $73B. Maple, however, grew from $500M to $5B over the same period, achieving a tenfold increase and securing a position among the top three lenders in CeFi, with a 7% market share.

Borrower activity also expanded meaningfully. Maple now counts 65 active borrowers, including 42 new borrowers onboarded this year. These borrowers originated $7.1B in loans over the past twelve months and generated $49M in interest for lenders.

Remarkably, Maple experienced zero bad debt and zero liquidations despite several severe market crashes throughout the year. This is a direct result of Maple’s rigorous risk management framework, with all margin calls consistently resolved within hours.

This is a key differentiator. While most DeFi protocols rely on oracles and automated liquidations, Maple manually manages stress events by notifying borrowers to top up collateral when needed. For institutions and large borrowers, this is essential, as forced liquidations triggered by rapid volatility are unacceptable.

2025 was therefore a pivotal year for Maple, allowing them to scale their AuM to a level where they now hold meaningful industry influence.

Key Industry Trends for 2026

The Maple team is highly optimistic about the future. Several industry-wide trends are accelerating simultaneously, and Maple is well positioned to benefit from all of them.

• Asset Tokenization

Tokenization is expanding rapidly, and new on-chain assets will create additional collateral types that Maple can lend against.

• Stablecoin Growth

With the passage of the Genius Act, stablecoin supply has reached $300B this year. From this point forward, the market is expected to grow at a 20% CAGR over the coming years, according to Citi, which would place total supply at approximately $750B by 2030. Maple believes this figure could be even higher, potentially reaching $1T within the next few years. As one of the world’s largest stablecoin lenders, Maple is well positioned to benefit from this expansion.

• Expansion of the Lending Market

Maple projects the crypto lending market to reach $300 billion and intends to capture more than 10% of that opportunity. According to the team, this would translate into approximately $30 billion in active loans, $75 billion in assets under management, and $300–400 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within the next three to five years.

While Maple’s focus in 2025 was primarily on scaling AUM, one of its key priorities in 2026 will shift toward revenue generation, with an internal target of $100 million in ARR, roughly four times its current level.

These targets may appear ambitious. Earlier this year, when Maple managed only $500 million in AUM and announced a year-end goal of $4 billion, even we at GLC remained cautious. After all, 10x growth in a single year is far from common or easily achievable. Nevertheless, Maple reached that target one quarter ahead of schedule and subsequently raised its year-end guidance to $5.5 billion. With a clear strategic roadmap, 2026 may follow a similar trajectory.

Roadmap for 2026

Maple plans to focus exclusively on creating, managing, and distributing its own products. This approach eliminates the risk of disputes with external partners, such as the recent situation with Core.

The team aims to maintain a focused set of high-quality, crypto-native products with real utility, offering yield strategies that traditional institutions cannot replicate.

Maple is also developing new yield-generating and risk-adjusted products to be released throughout 2026. They recognize that market conditions can be unpredictable and are designing products that can perform across all environments. These include basis trading, stablecoin arbitrage, and other market-neutral strategies. If Maple can offer attractive yields even during quiet market periods, they will be able to stabilize and further grow AuM.

On the distribution side, Maple will continue to expand access to syrupUSDC & syrupUSDT across major chains and protocols. Another key element of the 2026 strategy is fintech integration. Maple is already in discussions with several neobanks, which represents a strong opportunity to reach a broader audience seeking high-quality yield products.

Closing Thoughts

At GLC, we remain highly confident in Maple’s trajectory. They have achieved what few projects in the industry can claim: a clear strategic position, products users genuinely value, and a sustainable revenue model.

We also have a uniquely informed perspective on the team. They were the first project to give us an opportunity when we were still unknown, and they believed in us from day one. After working closely with several members of the team for more than a year, we can confidently say they are among the most ethical and transparent teams in the industry. This trust and level of integrity further reinforce our conviction in Maple’s long-term outlook.

2025 marked a pivotal turning point. Maple evolved from a strong DeFi protocol into a true market leader and the largest on-chain asset manager. The team now attracts significant interest from leading institutions and top-tier crypto projects.

Maple is exceptionally well positioned relative to the major trends shaping 2026: tokenization, stablecoin expansion, fintech adoption, and the continued growth of the lending market. Their growth prospects are substantial; their targets remain ambitious yet realistic, and the market-neutral products they are building should allow Maple to attract capital across all market conditions.

It has been a pleasure to follow Maple’s evolution throughout 2025, and we look forward to continuing that journey in 2026 and the years ahead.

Maple is here to stay.

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