Morpho
| Developer(s) | Morpho Association |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2022 |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | Solidity |
| Engine | |
| Type | Decentralized finance lending protocol |
| License | Open source |
| Website | morpho |
Search Morpho on Amazon.
Morpho is a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol on the Ethereum blockchain and other EVM-compatible chains. It is developed by the Morpho Association.[1] By early 2026, the protocol held over $10 billion in deposits.[2]
The protocol first launched in 2022 as Morpho Optimizers, built on top of Aave and Compound Finance. In 2024, Morpho released Variable-rate Markets, where users create isolated lending markets and third-party curators manage vaults. A fixed-rate addition was announced in 2025.[3]
Several cryptocurrency exchanges use Morpho for their lending products, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini.[4][5]
In February 2026, Apollo Global Management agreed to buy up to 90 million MORPHO governance tokens over four years.[6]
History
Origins
Paul Frambot co-founded Morpho in 2021 with Merlin Egalité, Mathis Gontier Delaunay, and Julien Thomas. Frambot started the project while finishing a master's degree at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris. Nascent and Semantic Capital provided $2 million in seed funding.[7]
In July 2022, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Variant led an $18 million round.[8][9]
In August 2024, Ribbit Capital led a $50 million round. Other participants included Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Brevan Howard, and Kraken Ventures.[10]
Technology
Morpho Optimizers
Morpho Optimizers launched in 2022 on top of Aave and Compound Finance. The system matched lenders with borrowers directly; when no match was found, funds fell back to the underlying pool.[11] The protocol reached $1 billion in deposits within 18 months.[11]
Variable-rate Markets
In 2024, Morpho launched Variable-rate Markets. Anyone can create isolated lending markets by specifying a collateral asset, a loan asset, an oracle, and risk parameters. Third-party curators can deploy Morpho Vaults on top of these markets. Curators select which markets to allocate into and set exposure limits.[12]
By 2025, more than 30 curators were operating on Morpho.[13] Compound Finance adopted Morpho's infrastructure for its deployment on Polygon.[14]
In January 2025, Coinbase launched bitcoin-backed loans on Morpho on Base.[4] Coinbase later added USDC lending through a Morpho Vault curated by Steakhouse Financial.[15]
Gemini integrated Morpho into its self-custodial wallet,[16] Kraken used it in its DeFi Earn product,[5] OKX used it for OKX Earn USDT,[17] and Bitget launched yield products on Arbitrum through Morpho.[18]
Société Générale's digital-asset arm SG-Forge used Morpho for EUR CoinVertible stablecoin lending.[19]
Fixed-rate Markets
In June 2025, Morpho announced Fixed-rate Markets, which let borrowers lock in a rate and term upfront.[3]
Institutional use
In January 2026, Bitwise Asset Management began curating vaults on Morpho.[20]
The Swiss custodian Taurus added Morpho Vaults to its custody platform Taurus-PROTECT.[21][22]
In February 2026, Anchorage Digital added Morpho Vaults to its custody platform.[6] That same month, Apollo Global Management agreed to buy up to 90 million MORPHO governance tokens over four years.[6]
Security
Audits
Morpho's core contracts have been audited more than 25 times by firms including Trail of Bits, Spearbit, and OpenZeppelin.[23] The protocol runs a $2.5 million bug bounty.[23]
References
- ↑ "Crypto lender Morpho bucks DeFi trend as nonprofit absorbs development team". DL News.
- ↑ "With Morpho V2, the Top Crypto Lender Seeks to Make DeFi More Like TradFi". The Defiant. June 13, 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Crypto Lending Platform Morpho V2 Brings DeFi Closer to Traditional Finance". Yahoo Finance. June 12, 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Backed Loans Through Morpho". CoinDesk. January 16, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Kraken rolls out DeFi Earn in US, EU and Canada". The Block.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Wall Street Giant Apollo Deepens Crypto Push with Morpho Token Deal". CoinDesk. February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Paul Frambot, CEO of Morpho Labs, on DeFi 2.0". CryptoRank.
- ↑ "A16z, Variant Lead $18M Round for Lending Protocol Morpho Labs". CoinDesk. July 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Avec Morpho, ces étudiants français ont séduit Andreessen Horowitz". Le Figaro. July 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Crypto Lending Firm Morpho Bags $50M in Funding Round Led by Ribbit Capital". Yahoo Finance. August 1, 2024.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "DeFi's Path to Mass Adoption Goes Through Fintech Firms, Centralized Exchanges, Morpho Labs Chief Says". CoinDesk. April 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Morpho: Evolving into Permissionless Lending Infrastructure". Blockworks Research.
- ↑ "DeFi Curators in 2025: Navigating Chaos, Building Resilience". Chorus One. 2025.
- ↑ "Compound Launches New Vaults Rival Morpho". The Block. March 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Earn Competitive Yields by Lending Your USDC". Coinbase.
- ↑ "Gemini Launches Self-Custodial Smart Wallet". CoinDesk. August 14, 2025.
- ↑ "Katana Reward Campaign for Katana Onchain Earn". OKX.
- ↑ "Bitget Launches Upgraded On-Chain Earn with Morpho". Bitget.
- ↑ "From Pools to Vaults: The $21B RWA Wave Reshaping Onchain Lending". FXStreet. January 2026.
- ↑ "Bitwise Expands Onchain Solutions with Introduction of Non-Custodial Vault Curation on Morpho". Fintech Finance News. January 2026.
- ↑ "Taurus Integrates Morpho Enabling Institutional Access to Onchain Lending". Fintech Finance News.
- ↑ "Morpho integrates into Taurus-PROTECT". Asset Servicing Times. February 17, 2026.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Risks". Morpho Documentation.
Category:Decentralized finance Category:Ethereum-based protocols Category:Financial services companies established in 2021 Category:Free and open-source software
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