WuBlockchain
Morpho, a DeFi lending protocol, closed a $175 million funding round at a roughly $2 billion valuation, led by Paradigm, a16z Crypto and Ribbit Capital with participation from Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures and VanEck. The deal, reported by Fortune, comes as Morpho expands from crypto-native markets toward institutional adoption.
Why it matters
The cap table is the signal. Three of crypto's most insider-only VCs co-led the round, but the sleeve participants — Apollo, Circle and VanEck — are the tell. Apollo is one of the largest traditional asset managers in the world, VanEck is a publicly traded fund complex with an active crypto ETF franchise, and Circle is the issuer of USDC. Morpho isn't pitching DeFi degens; it's pitching the plumbing layer these institutions need to underwrite onchain credit.
Morpho already has $6.6 billion in TVL and counts Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital and Galaxy Digital as users. The raise gives the protocol a war chest to deepen institutional integrations and build compliance and risk tooling that TradFi counterparties require before they will commit balance sheet at scale.
Market impact
DeFi lending TVL has been consolidating around a handful of blue-chip protocols, and Morpho's valuation reset at $2B is a new private-market marker for the segment. With Apollo, Circle and VanEck on the cap table, Morpho is now one of the closest DeFi-native protocols to a regulated-credit-onchain narrative — the same thesis that has been driving the broader tokenization and RWA cycle.
Source: [Exclusive: The startup that’s dressing up crypto for Wall Street raises $175 million in a round led by a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital — Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/06/09/morpho-fundraise-a16z-crypto-paradigm-ribbit-capital-175-million/)
Frequently asked questions
-
How much did Morpho raise and at what valuation?
Morpho closed a $175 million funding round at a roughly $2 billion valuation, led by Paradigm, a16z Crypto and Ribbit Capital with participation from Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures and VanEck.
-
Who led Morpho's funding round?
Paradigm, a16z Crypto and Ribbit Capital co-led the $175 million round, with Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures and VanEck participating as additional investors.
-
Which institutional firms already use Morpho?
Morpho is used by Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital and Galaxy Digital, and currently carries $6.6 billion in total value locked (TVL).
-
Why is the Morpho cap table considered significant?
Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures and VanEck on the sleeve signal that Morpho is positioning for TradFi and institutional adoption rather than just crypto-native DeFi growth, giving the protocol credibility with regulated counterparties.
-
What does Morpho plan to do with the new funding?
The raise gives Morpho capital to deepen institutional integrations and build the compliance and risk tooling that TradFi firms require before committing balance sheet at scale onchain.
CoinDesk
TheBlock
Crypto Rank News
CryptoSlate