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Crypto Almanac Daily
M
Lending

Maple

Best for independently tracked protocol

Total value locked:$2,482m at this checkChains:2Audits recorded:2Audit report linked:YesRubric:v2.0 · verified 9 Aug 2026
Kayla PetersonKayla PetersonDeFi Research Analyst· Last verified August 9, 2026
Confidence ARubric v2.0Verified August 9, 2026
8.0
out of 10
Open account
Scorecard

How it rates

Counterparty & contract risk · 40%8.0
Cost transparency · 15%7.0
Market quality · 15%9.0
Transparency & track record · 20%8.0
Public documentation surface · 10%8.0
Pros
  • Audit report linked from a public dataset
  • TVL of $2,482m recorded independently
Cons
  • No accounting methodology published at this check
How this score was built

Each indicator scores 2, 1 or 0. A pillar is the points earned over the points available; the overall score is the weighted sum. Every source below is public — check any of them yourself.

Counterparty & contract risk · 40% weight8/10 points · 8.0/10
Cost transparency · 15% weight7/10 points · 7.0/10
  • Met
    Application reachable without an account

    Reachable without an account at this check.

    www.maple.finance
  • Met
    Protocol economics published independently

    TVL and change history published.

    defillama.com/protocol/maple
  • Not met
    Accounting methodology published

    Not published at this check.

    defillama.com/protocol/maple
  • Partial
    Fee or reward model documented publicly

    Application reachable for review; specific rates not captured at this check.

    www.maple.finance
  • Met
    No account required to reach the application

    Reachable without an account at this check.

    www.maple.finance
Market quality · 15% weight9/10 points · 9.0/10
Transparency & track record · 20% weight8/10 points · 8.0/10
Public documentation surface · 10% weight8/10 points · 8.0/10

An institutional credit protocol holding $2.48bn across two chains, now overcollateralised after uncollateralised loans defaulted in 2022.

Our assessment

Maple holds $2.48bn across two chains with two audits and reports linked. Its history is the most instructive thing about it: the protocol originally made undercollateralised loans to institutions, and in 2022 several borrowers defaulted, leaving lenders with losses.

What the 2022 defaults demonstrated

Uncollateralised on-chain lending depends on credit assessment and legal recourse, neither of which a smart contract provides. When crypto trading firms failed in 2022, pools lent to them took real losses. Maple restructured toward overcollateralised and more carefully underwritten lending as a result — the correct response, and one that required admitting the original model did not work.

Institutional lending has different failure modes

Rather than an oracle failure or a liquidation cascade, the risk here is borrower default and the value and enforceability of the collateral behind it. That is credit risk, assessed by people, and it is opaque in a way smart contract risk is not. Read who the borrowers are and what secures the loans before assuming a rate is safe.

Where it stands now

Substantial scale, published audits, and a documented history of both failure and remediation. That combination scores well in our rubric precisely because the failure was disclosed and addressed rather than obscured.

Who it suits

Maple fits lenders who want institutional credit exposure and will read the underwriting. Users wanting purely algorithmic, overcollateralised lending should use Aave or Compound.

Alternatives

How rivals compare

ServiceScoreBest for
Compound V39.9audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Aave V39.9audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Euler V29.6audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Fluid Lending9.6audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Reference

Frequently asked

Does this score mean Maple is safe?

No. It measures what an outsider can verify: linked audits, published methodology and independently recorded market data. Contract risk is not tested by us.

Where do the TVL and audit figures come from?

A public analytics dataset queried at the verification date, plus the audit reports it links. Both are re-runnable by anyone.

Why do some protocols score zero on audits?

Because no audit report is linked in the public record. The indicator records what a user can reach, not a claim that no audit exists.