Crypto.com taps Morpho DeFi lending

Crypto.com, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has informed its users that they will soon be able to borrow wrapped crypto assets and earn returns on stablecoins through Morpho, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol. 

This update was made public after an announcement on Thursday, October 2, revealing that Morpho intends to establish stablecoin lending markets on the Cronos blockchain, with the launch of the first vaults anticipated later this year.

With this combination, users can deposit wrapped Ether or Bitcoin into Morpho vaults and utilize them as collateral to borrow stablecoins and earn yield.

The Morpho lending protocol acts as a game-changer in blockchain technology 

Wrapped assets are tokens on one blockchain, such as Ethereum, that represent an asset from a different blockchain, like Bitcoin, at a 1:1 value. On Cronos, wrapped tokens like CDCETH and CDCBTC reflect ETH and BTC, enabling users to add value to the network and access DeFi lending markets without leaving the chain.

Following these updates, Morpho’s co-founder and integration team lead, Merlin Egalite, said that they aim to provide a trusted user experience in the front, with DeFi infrastructure in the back. He further explained that the protocol will be directly combined into Crypto.com’s platforms, offering its lending features to all users.

Morpho connects lenders and borrowers using platforms such as Aave and Compound. With its increased adoption, the protocol has been positioned as the second-largest DeFi lending protocol, with a total value locked of around $7.7 billion, according to reports from DefiLlama.

For the accessibility of this protocol, Egalite mentioned that users based in the US will have the chance to access the protocol. He acknowledged that the Genesis Act hinders stablecoin issuers from directly paying reserve yields to holders. However, he stated that lending a stablecoin and earning yield is a different activity that does not depend on the issuer, so the restrictions do not affect it.

In the meantime, the partnership between Morphos and Crypto.com was established just a few weeks after the DeFi lending protocol teamed up with the US crypto exchange Coinbase. 

Regarding its partnership with Morpho, Coinbase stated that it had integrated the Morpho lending protocol directly into its app, with the DeFi advisory firm Steakhouse Financial overseeing the vaults. Similar to the Crypto.com feature, users can lend USDC without leaving the platform to access other DeFi services or wallets. 

Banks raise concerns about stablecoin issuers’ plan to eliminate traditional banks

Just days after the partnership announcements, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed plans to build a full-fledged crypto “super app” designed to replace the need for traditional banks.

Banks raised concerns about the plan and resisted this change. In August, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) and several US financial institutions penned a letter to Congress requesting that they close stablecoin loopholes. 

They contend these loopholes give stablecoin issuers a way to compete with banks without the appropriate oversight. The letter warns that if these concerns go unaddressed, as much as $6.6 trillion in deposits could flee the US banking system.

On September 16, Coinbase responded to the banks’ claims in a blog post, calling them false and stating there is no proof that the growth of stablecoins has led to any deposit losses at local banks. 

The post mentioned, “The institutions now claiming ‘systemic risk’ are the same ones making tens of billions from card processing fees, which stablecoins could completely avoid.” 

Responding to the accusations, Coinbase issued a blog post on September 16,  saying they were all false and that there is no evidence of any deposit loss at local banks due to stablecoin growth.

The post noted that the organizations raising concerns about ‘systemic risk’ are the same ones that acquire tens of billions from card processing fees, which stablecoins could potentially eliminate.

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