Maple Finance has partnered with Lido Finance to offer stablecoin credit lines backed by stETH, a liquid staking token representing staked ETH.

The move will let institutions borrow stablecoins without unstaking their Ethereum (ETH), preserving exposure to Ethereum staking rewards while unlocking liquidity.

The new offering, shared with crypto.news, is designed for institutional users seeking to optimize capital efficiency. Through Maple’s credit platform, borrowers can use stETH as collateral for underwritten stablecoin loans. 

The credit lines are designed to support use cases such as treasury management, conservative leverage strategies, and short-term working capital needs.

Lower costs, easier access 

Lido’s stETH token is widely used in Ethereum’s liquid staking ecosystem, allowing users to earn staking rewards while retaining a tradable asset. By accepting stETH as collateral, Maple (SYRUP) enables institutions to avoid the opportunity cost of unstaking and instead access capital while continuing to earn ETH rewards.

“This partnership formalizes a growing demand from institutions already using stETH in their capital strategies,” said Sid Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of Maple. “By enabling loans backed by stETH, we’re making it easier for institutions to access liquidity while keeping their core assets staked and productive.”

The collaboration reflects an evolving DeFi trend: building credit infrastructure around tokenized, yield-generating assets. It also signals increased institutional comfort with DeFi-native collateral such as stETH, which maintains broad liquidity and integration across Ethereum protocols.

Maple’s in-house credit team will underwrite the loans, according to the company.