0xResearch Curated Credit: How Maple and Morpho Approach DeFi Lending | Sid Powell & Merlin Egalite
Feb 2, 2026
Merlin Egalite, co-founder of Morpho building a permissionless credit layer for composable, intent-based lending. Sid Powell, CEO of Maple, running institutional on-chain lending with $4.5B AUM and active underwriting. They discuss the shift to curator-driven credit, how depositor risk migrates to curators, APY vs. hidden tail risks, transparency and ratings, and new collateral and distribution models.
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Hybrid On‑Chain Loans, Off‑Chain Collateral
- Maple shifted from protocol infrastructure to vertically integrated underwriting, centralizing curator responsibilities in-house.
- On-chain loans run via smart contracts while collateral can be managed off-chain with custodians, creating a hybrid model.
Bootstrapped On Top, Then Built Infrastructure
- Morpho began by building on top of existing lending pools and faced upgrades and governance changes that disrupted product stability.
- That experience pushed Merlin to build a neutral infrastructure so creators could compete without a third party changing rules.
Choose Vaults By Exposure, Not Hype
- When choosing a vault, examine collateral, utilization and market exposure to match your risk profile.
- Use curated vaults and distributor labels to simplify choices if you lack technical or financial expertise.