In March 2023, Bitwise Asset Management made its first institutional investment in the DeFi sector by allocating funds through the Maple Finance platform. This investment highlights the growing interest of institutional investors in decentralized financial technologies.
First Institutional Investment
Maple Finance confirmed that Bitwise Asset Management has made its first institutional investment in their platform by funding their overcollateralized Bitcoin loans. Although the exact investment size was not disclosed, Dune Analytics data shows an increase of roughly $5 million in the platform's TVL from March 4 to 5.
Market-independent Returns
Institutional investors in the US are cautiously exploring DeFi investments. Bitwise sees significant opportunities to generate market-independent returns through these platforms, such as Maple. According to Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at Bitwise, the company is eager to capitalize on the emerging opportunities in on-chain credit.
About Bitwise and Maple Finance
Founded in 2021, Maple Finance specializes in blockchain-based credit strategies for institutional clients. According to Dune, its total locked capital exceeds $700 million. Bitwise is a crypto-focused asset manager with $12 billion in assets under management, sponsoring several US funds, including the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and Bitwise Ethereum ETF.
Bitwise's investment in Maple Finance demonstrates the maturity and readiness of decentralized financial infrastructures for institutional-scale adoption. This could mark the beginning of broader integration of such strategies in the future.
