Maple Finance and Elwood Technologies will connect Maple’s on-chain credit market to Elwood’s trade, risk and custody infrastructure, allowing traditional funds to buy tokenised loans through familiar screens and workflows. Maple has issued over $7 billion in loans, while Elwood brings order routing, portfolio dashboards and risk controls that align with institutional policy manuals. The firms published the plan on 29 September 2025, with live usage dependent on completed risk modules, accepted custody models and regulator reaction.
The tie-up plugs Maple’s loan origination engine into Elwood’s execution, connectivity and risk layer, so that Maple originates and services the loans while Elwood provides the screens, APIs and pre-trade limits that institutions already use. The link lets traditional funds access tokenised loans through workflows they recognise, reducing friction between DeFi rails and existing operational processes.
Sid Powell of Maple said the joint stack delivers “institutional-grade” entry to on-chain credit, emphasizing end-to-end access for regulated investors. Chris Lawn of Elwood said the build covers trade, position and risk modules, aiming to match the control frameworks set out in institutional policy manuals.
Institutional Credit Strategies On-Chain
The build targets gaps that have kept most funds out of DeFi, including missing audit trails, non-standard settlement and manual reconciliation. On-chain credit refers to loans born, tracked and repaid on a blockchain via tokenised assets and smart contracts that log terms and payments in public code, pairing transparent data with programmable controls.
Regulatory uncertainty, code failure and crypto price swings remain open problems, and regulatory as well as market shocks still pose threats to adoption. Live usage will hinge on finished risk modules and accepted custody and reporting checks, which together determine whether institutional compliance teams sign off.
TrueFi and Archblock appear as rival platforms racing toward similar controls, and the competitive set may accelerate upgrades to compliance layers as institutions evaluate options. If custody or reporting checks pass, more funds may allocate capital and on-chain lending books may deepen, though rules and potential tech failures still threaten progress.
The partnership seeks to make institutional access to on-chain credit operationally familiar and policy-aligned, and if governance, custody and risk requirements are satisfied, allocations could grow—but regulatory and technical risks will continue to shape the pace of adoption.
