As the cryptocurrency industry continues to expand, different platforms are emerging, offering new use cases and functionalities. An example of this is Maple Finance, which was developed to make institutional lending more accessible to commercial ventures and institutions. However, recognizing the need for everyday users to enjoy this approach to borrowing and lending, Maple Finance launched Syrup Finance.

What is Syrup Finance?

Source: https://syrup.fi/

Syrup Finance is Maple Finance’s flagship product, designed to bring the high, consistent yields of institutional lending into decentralized finance (DeFi). Essentially, Maple Finance operates as the trusted lender for big institutions, offering fixed-rate, overcollateralized loans that generate reliable returns. Syrup then takes this approach and makes it available to everyday DeFi users.

When users deposit stablecoins like USDC or USDT into Syrup Finance, they receive liquidity pool (LP) tokens (syrupUSDC or syrupUSDT) representing their pool share. These tokens start earning yield immediately, allowing users to benefit from Maple’s proven lending strategy. The loans are also short-term, thus providing both steady returns and short-term liquidity.

Syrup also boasts of a strong track record. Maple Finance’s robust smart contract and lending infrastructure have processed up to $6 billion in loans, meaning that high-quality and secure lending practices back your yield on Syrup. Moreover, Syrup is integrated with a few major DeFi protocols and automated market makers (AMMs), including Pendle and ether.fi. Users can also use their LP tokens as collateral on other platforms, enhancing their earning opportunities.

History of Syrup Finance

Syrup Finance was created by Maple Finance in 2019. Maple Finance was founded by Joe Flanagan and Sidney Powell and launched on the Ethereum mainnet in May 2021. The rest of Maple Finance’s executive team includes Matt Collum, the CTO, and Ryan O’Shea, the current COO.

Since its launch, Syrup has been able to rack up a TVL of over $235.7 million, with an APY of 17% and a collateral ratio of 176.1%.

How Does Syrup Work?

Syrup Finance works by leveraging Maple Finance’s trusted lending infrastructure to provide high and steady yields to its users. Its foundation protocol, Maple Finance is a leading digital asset lending platform that uses smart contracts to securely manage loans.

Maple Finance creates special lending pools for different liquidity and risk needs. Syrup Finance taps directly into these pools through its own interface and smart contract router, which have been set up separately from Maple’s other services. This segregation ensures that the risks and proceeds for Syrup users remain distinct and well-managed.

When you decide to lend on Syrup, you begin by depositing a stablecoin, like USDC or USDT, into one of these dedicated pools. This is done by interacting with a smart contract—an automated program that processes the deposit. Once you deposit your funds, the contract gives you liquidity provider (LP) tokens that represent your share of the pool. These LP tokens follow the ERC-4626 standard, meaning they gain value as borrowers repay their loans. In other words, as the loans generate yield, your LP tokens increase in worth.

Moreover, Syrup offers flexibility through commitment options. When lending, you can choose to lock in your deposit for either 3 or 6 months. This commitment helps the Syrup team manage liquidity and issue new loans more efficiently. During your chosen commitment period, your funds remain locked, ensuring stability for the overall lending pool.

Overall, Syrup Finance provides a streamlined, transparent way to earn attractive yields from institutional lending. It combines Maple’s robust credit operations with user-friendly smart contracts, making it simple for anyone to participate in high-quality, secure lending. As a result, users can turn their stablecoin deposits into a reliable income source.

Main Features of Syrup Finance

Syrup Finance features include:

Drips Rewards

Drips Rewards allows users in the Syrup ecosystem to earn SYRUP tokens as rewards for early participation and staying committed to the project. Users earn Drips daily, and it is distributed at a base rate of 1 Drip per USDC. Nonetheless, the more they participate and use the platform (like using specific wallet integrations or transacting with syrupUSDC), the higher their rewards are.

Each earning period in the Drips program is called a Season, and each Season lasts for one month. At the end of a Season, the Drips you have accumulated can be converted into SYRUP tokens.

Syrup offers even more rewards with multipliers for users who make longer capital commitments to the platform. For example, if you commit your funds for three months, you receive a 1.5x multiplier on your base reward rate. A six-month commitment gives you a 3x multiplier. These boosts encourage users to support the platform over a longer period, which drives overall growth and stability.

Syrup Lending

Syrup Lending allows users to earn steady yields by lending their digital assets on the platform. All you have to do is simply connect your wallet and deposit tokens (like USDC or USDT), on Syrup’s website. When you make a deposit, you can choose a commitment period ranging from three to six months. The longer you commit, the greater your Drips rewards. The deposit is then managed by a dedicated smart contract, which securely holds the funds and converts them into liquidity provider (LP) tokens.

When you lend your assets, you may first need to approve a smart contract so it can interact with your tokens. This is a common step on Ethereum as it ensures the contract can safely manage your assets. Once your deposit is processed, you’ll see a confirmation screen, along with links to verify your transaction on Etherscan for full transparency. Each lending asset on Syrup is handled by its own smart contract that follows the ERC-4626 “Tokenized Vault” standard, ensuring that all LP tokens grow in value as borrowers repay their loans.

Syrup Staking

Syrup also offers staking opportunities to enable users to earn extra SYRUP tokens by locking up their SYRUP tokens. Users that stake their tokens receive stSYRUP, a special token that represents their stake and automatically tracks their rewards over time. These rewards come from two combined sources: a regular annual increase in the overall SYRUP supply (5% per year) and token buybacks funded by the revenue generated from the platform’s lending activities.

A key aspect of Syrup’s staking is its non-custodial nature. This means that when you stake your tokens, no third party holds or manages them, meaning your funds remain under your control at all times. As such, you can unstake and withdraw your tokens whenever you want with no lock-up period, and you still get to keep all the rewards you’ve earned.

Syrup Convert

Syrup Convert is a structured process that allows users to transform their MPL tokens into new SYRUP tokens, due to the Maple ecosystem’s conversion to using SYRUP tokens. This conversion uses a fixed ratio of 1 MPL to 100 SYRUP, ensuring existing MPL holders can switch tokens without losing their assets’ value.

To participate, users simply need to visit the Syrup web app, connect a self-custody wallet, and follow the prompts to select “Claim & Stake.” If you choose to stake your SYRUP tokens, they will be shown in your wallet as stSYRUP, allowing you to start earning rewards immediately. All bonus SYRUP tokens will be visible in your staking dashboard.

The conversion process is designed to be user-friendly and uses smart contracts to automate it. Once you deposit your MPL tokens, the contract handles the conversion, and if you prefer to stake, the contract automatically locks up the tokens in the staking mechanism.

For users converting their tokens from other exchanges, the process may vary according to each exchange’s conversion policies. Some exchanges offer automatic conversion from MPL to SYRUP, while others may require you to transfer your MPL balance into a self-custody wallet before completing the conversion.

Integration with Pendle

Syrup also provides additional yield generation opportunities through its integration with Pendle. Essentially, Pendle is a platform that allows users to tokenize and trade their assets’ yield, making it easier to track and claim the rewards they earn. For Syrup users, this means they can claim their USDC yield directly on Pendle, while their Drips rewards are available on the Syrup website.

Users also earn Drips from their activity on Pendle. Any deposits made on Pendle automatically receive a 3x boost in Drips rewards, similar to a six-month commitment of Drips Rewards. However, it’s important to note that the timing for claiming rewards on Pendle and Syrup might vary. As such, to get the full benefits of both Syrup and Pendle, you’ll need to check both platforms regularly for the latest updates on your earnings.

What is SYRUP?

SYRUP is the new native token of the Maple Finance and Syrup ecosystem. The native token was formerly MPL, but an MIP-010 proposal was brought forward, which introduced the Syrup token. It was officially launched on November 13th, 2024, and per the MIP-010 proposal, all MPL holders were advised to convert their assets to SYRUP initially at a rate of 1 MPL-100 SYRUP, but now the conversion rate has reverted to a 1:1 basis.

The token serves various functions, including transactions, staking and governance. Rewards are also paid in SYRUP.

SYRUP Tokenomics

Per the MIP-010 proposal, Syrup Finance minted approximately 1.15 billion SYRUP tokens. The breakdown is as follows:

• 1 billion SYRUP tokens were minted (1 MPL= 100 SYRUP)
• 100 million tokens were added (an extra 10% from the inflation schedule)
• An additional 54.9 million tokens were added from the inflation schedule until October 1, 2024.

The Maple DAO initially voted to recapitalize the Treasury by issuing 1,000,000 MPL tokens in a one-time event and then setting up a three-year emission schedule at a rate of 5% per year. However, with the new conversion system, all these tokens are now issued as SYRUP tokens.

According to the planned inflation and issuance schedule, the total supply of SYRUP tokens is expected to reach 1,228,740,800 by September 2026. Its current circulating supply is 737,021,072 tokens, with a market cap of $96.7 million.

News on SYRUP

On November 20th, 2024, Syrup and Maple Finance announced a new partnership with Base. As a result, Base users can access the full suite of features and functionalities provided on Syrup Finance.

Is SYRUP a Good Investment?

Syrup was created to enable users to enjoy the benefits of institutionalized lending from Maple Finance. With Syrup, users can enjoy yield generation rewards and even earn rewards for using the platform consistently. However, it must be noted that the crypto market is quite volatile, so users should conduct extensive research before investing in any project.

Take Action on SYRUP

SYRUP can be traded on centralized and decentralized exchanges like gate.io. Click here to view and trade your favorite pairs.

• SYRUP/USDT