๐ฐ Maple Financeโs story didnโt begin with a plan to build an โon-chain bank.โ It began with two traditional finance professionals trying to bring bonds and loans on-chain.
Founder Sid Powell worked as a credit risk analyst at National Australia Bank, where he helped issue more than $3 billion in corporate bonds. Co-founder Joe Flanagan, meanwhile, had worked in consulting and as a CFO, and led more than $400 million in debt and equity financing.
๐ฅ Their backgrounds complemented each other perfectly: Sid knew banks and capital providers, while Joe had firsthand experience of a large company collapsing because of balance sheet and liquidity problems. To be frank, that experience directly influenced Mapleโs product direction.
Maple initially wanted to package bonds and loans from traditional institutions and bring them on-chain, but soon discovered that no institutions were willing to hand over their assets. In early 2020, they shifted to on-chain credit lendingโnot lending to individuals, but directing funds to institutional borrowers who were easier to assess.
๐ก The model soon became clear: investors deposit USDC into a pool, credit managers assess institutional borrowers, and once the funds are lent out, the institutions pay interest that is then distributed to investors. In March 2021, Maple raised $1.4 million in seed funding, and in May it officially launched its first pool.
โ ๏ธ But the 2022 bear market exposed the weaknesses of this model. Unsecured credit loans have no collateral, so if a borrower canโt repay, itโs difficult for investors to recover their losses by auctioning off assets. And to remain asset-light and isolate risk, Maple mainly provides a lending platform rather than participating directly in lending. What do you think is the hardest problem to solve in on-chain private credit: screening borrowers or determining responsibility after a default?
#MapleFinance #RWA #้พไธไฟก่ดท #DeFi
Founder Sid Powell worked as a credit risk analyst at National Australia Bank, where he helped issue more than $3 billion in corporate bonds. Co-founder Joe Flanagan, meanwhile, had worked in consulting and as a CFO, and led more than $400 million in debt and equity financing.
๐ฅ Their backgrounds complemented each other perfectly: Sid knew banks and capital providers, while Joe had firsthand experience of a large company collapsing because of balance sheet and liquidity problems. To be frank, that experience directly influenced Mapleโs product direction.
Maple initially wanted to package bonds and loans from traditional institutions and bring them on-chain, but soon discovered that no institutions were willing to hand over their assets. In early 2020, they shifted to on-chain credit lendingโnot lending to individuals, but directing funds to institutional borrowers who were easier to assess.
๐ก The model soon became clear: investors deposit USDC into a pool, credit managers assess institutional borrowers, and once the funds are lent out, the institutions pay interest that is then distributed to investors. In March 2021, Maple raised $1.4 million in seed funding, and in May it officially launched its first pool.
โ ๏ธ But the 2022 bear market exposed the weaknesses of this model. Unsecured credit loans have no collateral, so if a borrower canโt repay, itโs difficult for investors to recover their losses by auctioning off assets. And to remain asset-light and isolate risk, Maple mainly provides a lending platform rather than participating directly in lending. What do you think is the hardest problem to solve in on-chain private credit: screening borrowers or determining responsibility after a default?
#MapleFinance #RWA #้พไธไฟก่ดท #DeFi