- Morpho Labs raises $175M from investors like Paradigm, aiming to become a foundational credit layer for institutions.
- Investor interest is shifting toward stablecoin and credit infrastructure, not just retail DeFi lending.
- Onchain credit markets are gaining traction, with Coinbase using Morpho to originate over $2.17B in corporate USDC loans.
- Venture capital is concentrating on late-stage crypto infrastructure deals, with Series C+ funding surging over 1,000% year-over-year.
Morpho Labs raised $175 million on Tuesday, led by Paradigm, a16z crypto, and Ribbit Capital, signaling a major bet on blockchain-based credit infrastructure. This strategic shift aims to serve banks and asset managers, not just retail DeFi users.
Spark CEO Sam MacPherson noted investors increasingly back stablecoin and credit infrastructure over pure DeFi lending. As stablecoins scale, he stated, “credit becomes one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in the stack.”
Consequently, Morpho is positioning itself as a credit infrastructure layer. Sentora highlighted this trend, pointing to Coinbase’s use of Morpho smart contracts for over $2.17 billion in corporate USDC loans.
Morpho co-founder Merlin Egalite said success will be measured by expanding institutional integrations over 12-18 months. He called the round “the largest raise in DeFi history,” according to a post on X.
Meanwhile, venture capital is heavily concentrating on established firms. A Q1 2026 report by CryptoRank shows Series C+ funding surged 1,020% year-over-year.
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