Morpho Raises $175M in Funding Round Led by Paradigm and a16z
Decentralized lending protocol Morpho has secured $175 million in a funding round co-led by Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), marking one of the largest raises for a DeFi platform. The protocol, which enables anyone to create isolated lending markets, has $11 billion in user deposits and has popularized curated lending vaults. These vaults allow risk managers to set parameters for automatic capital allocation to crypto-backed markets. Morpho has been adopted by major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, as well as French banking giant Société Générale. The raise comes amid an uptick in DeFi exploits this year, including a liquidity crisis on Aave and a $285 million theft from Drift linked to North Korean hackers. Morpho plans to use the funds for infrastructure development and commercial integrations, aiming to become a shared credit layer for banks, asset managers, and fintechs. However, as with other lending protocols, borrowers face liquidation risks; recent Bitcoin price drops have led to liquidations for thousands of Coinbase users.
Key facts
- Morpho raised $175M in funding co-led by Paradigm, a16z, and Ribbit Capital.
- The protocol has $11B in deposits and popularized curated lending vaults.
- Adopted by Coinbase, Binance, and Société Générale for lending products.
- Raise comes amid DeFi exploits, including Aave liquidity crisis and Drift theft.
- Funds will support infrastructure development and commercial integrations.