Core Foundation Secures Legal Victory Against Maple Finance Over BTC Yield Product

• Court order blocks Maple from launching similar Bitcoin yield product amid heated dispute.
• Core Foundation argues that Maple used confidential data to create a rival offering unfairly.

On November 19, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands issued an injunction in favor of Core Foundation, blocking Maple Finance from launching a rival Bitcoin yield product. This legal order also prevents Maple from engaging in transactions involving CORE tokens until a final arbitration process is completed.

The dispute centers on a Bitcoin yield product called LstBTC, developed in a partnership between Core Foundation and Maple Finance earlier in 2025. The product was first announced during a February event in Hong Kong, and by April, LstBTC was officially launched. 

Core Foundation stated it invested heavily in both technical development and promotional activities to bring the product to market. After its release, LstBTC gained strong traction, contributing to rapid user growth for Maple. 

Core Challenges Maple Over SyrupBTC Creation

Core accused Maple of turning around in mid-2025 and using confidential data and internal resources from the lstBTC project to create a competing product named syrupBTC. Core said this action violated an exclusivity agreement that barred Maple from offering similar products for 24 months.

Justice Jalil Asif KC, presiding over the case, acknowledged in official court documents that Maple’s actions raise serious legal questions. The court stated that monetary compensation would not be an adequate solution, citing the risk that Maple could trade or dispose of CORE tokens and could gain an early advantage by releasing a rival product before the dispute is resolved.

Beyond the exclusivity breach, Core Foundation raised issues about lender risk, pointing to Maple’s recent declaration of impairments on Bitcoin deposits. These followed Core’s halt to price-protection payments due to the alleged breaches. The foundation questioned Maple’s decision, stating, 

Maple Pushes Back Against Core Foundation Claims

Meanwhile, in its defense, Maple issued a statement denying all allegations. The platform said it will take strong legal action to hold Core Foundation accountable for what it described as actions harmful to its lenders. The company wrote on X,

Amid the legal clash, Maple has been restructuring the economics behind SYRUP, its native governance token. Earlier in November, the company ended staking rewards tied to SYRUP and launched a new model based on protocol revenue. 

Under this updated approach, 25% of all revenue will fund the Syrup Strategic Fund. This fund will handle buybacks and liquidity operations going forward.