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Most people who hold $USDC or $USDT just let it sit in their wallet.
Maple wants to change what a stablecoin can actually do, and now its tokens are easier to trade thanks to a new integration with 1inch.
Maple's syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT tokens are now available through 1inch, a decentralized trading platform that scans liquidity across multiple blockchains to help users swap assets at the best available price, all while keeping custody of their own funds.
In this case, 1inch handles the routing and swapping for Maple's tokens, while Maple continues to manage the underlying lending activity.
What Maple actually does
Maple is an onchain lending platform built for institutions. Trading firms borrow stablecoins through Maple by posting crypto assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral, well above the value of what they're borrowing. Lenders, in turn, deposit $USDC or $USDT and receive a token back representing their position.
That's where syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT come in. Deposit $USDC into Maple, and you receive syrupUSDC in return. Deposit $USDT, and you get syrupUSDT.
Unlike a plain stablecoin, which just sits there holding its dollar value, these tokens represent stablecoins that have actually been put to work through Maple's lending system, meaning their value can grow over time, while carrying the same risks as any lending strategy.
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Tokenized real-world assets, or RWAs, usually bring to mind things like tokenized stocks or bonds. But credit is a real-world asset too, and tokenizing it solves a real problem.
In traditional finance, credit positions are notoriously hard to move around or plug into other financial systems.By turning a lending position into a token, Maple makes that credit exposure portable. It can be tracked, transferred, and traded using the same wallets and swap tools people already use across DeFi.
That doesn't eliminate the underlying risk. Lending markets still depend on the quality of borrowers, how well collateral is managed, and broader market conditions. But it does make tokenized credit far easier to actually use.
Where 1inch fits in
1inch is a decentralized exchange aggregator, a platform that doesn't hold its own liquidity pool, but instead scans multiple decentralized exchanges and liquidity sources across different blockchains to find users the best possible price when swapping one crypto asset for another.
It also offers a self-custodial wallet, a portfolio tracker, and developer tools like APIs for businesses building on top of its infrastructure. The key idea is that users never give up control of their funds, 1inch just finds the most efficient route for a trade rather than holding assets itself.
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Here, 1inch doesn't run Maple's lending operation. Minting, redeeming, and managing loans all stay on Maple's side. What 1inch provides is the infrastructure to move in and out of these tokens efficiently.
syrupUSDC is now supported on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base, while syrupUSDT is available on Ethereum and BNB Chain. Users can access both through 1inch's Swap, Trade, and Terminal products, while developers and institutional teams can integrate them through 1inch Business APIs.
For a token to actually be useful, it needs liquidity, not just a good design. 1inch's routing technology searches across available liquidity to help users get a better price when moving between stablecoins and Maple's tokens, rather than settling for the first available route.