Crypto.com users will soon have the opportunity to lend wrapped crypto assets and earn yield on stablecoins through Morpho, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol.
According to a Thursday announcement, Morpho is set to introduce stablecoin lending markets on the Cronos blockchain, with the inaugural vaults anticipated later this year. This integration will permit users to deposit wrapped Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) into Morpho vaults and borrow stablecoins against them for yield earnings.
Wrapped assets are tokens representing other cryptocurrencies on alternative blockchains. On Cronos, wrapped tokens like CDCETH and CDCBTC replicate ETH and BTC, enabling users to bring value onto the network and access DeFi lending markets without leaving the chain.
Merlin Egalite, co-founder of Morpho, shared with Cointelegraph that the aim is to deliver “a trusted user experience in the front, with DeFi infrastructure in the back.” The protocol will seamlessly integrate into the Crypto.com platforms, granting users access to its lending features.
Morpho, which aligns lenders and borrowers atop platforms like Aave and Compound, has surged to become the second-largest DeFi lending protocol, holding a total value locked of approximately $7.7 billion, as reported by DefiLlama.
Egalite also confirmed the protocol’s accessibility for US users. Although the Genius Act prevents stablecoin issuers from directly paying reserve yields to holders, “lending a stablecoin and earning yield is a separate activity, independent of the issuer, so the restriction does not apply,” he explained.
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Genius Act leaves questions around stablecoin yield
The partnership between Morphos and Crypto.com emerged shortly after a similar integration involving Morphos and the US crypto exchange Coinbase.
On Sept. 18, Coinbase declared the integration of the Morpho lending protocol directly within its app, featuring vaults managed by DeFi advisory firm Steakhouse Financial. Like the Crypto.com partnership, this feature enables users to lend USDC (USDC) without needing to access external DeFi services or wallets.
Coinbase stated that the new integration will allow users to tap into on-chain lending markets, potentially earning yields of up to 10.8%, substantially exceeding the current 4.5% APY rewards for holding USDC on their platform.
Shortly thereafter, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong mentioned the company’s ambition to evolve into a comprehensive crypto “super app,” ultimately replacing the need for traditional banks.
Unsurprisingly, banks are reacting negatively. In August, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) and various US financial institutions addressed a letter to Congress, urging them to close stablecoin loopholes that they argue allow issuers to compete with banks without proper oversight. They warn that failing to do so could siphon off up to $6.6 trillion in deposits from the US banking system.
On Sept. 16, Coinbase rebutted the banks’ claims in a blog post, asserting there is no evidence that the growth of stablecoins has led to deposit outflows at local banks. The post stated:
“The institutions now warning of ‘systemic risk’ are the same ones pocketing tens of billions from card processing fees, which stablecoins could bypass entirely.”
Though the Genius Act, enacted in the US in July 2025, prohibited interest-bearing stablecoins, it does not explicitly bar crypto exchanges or affiliated businesses from offering yield.
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