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BULLISH 📈 : Morpho raised $175M from a16z, Paradigm to bring Wall Street into DeFi

Paradigm, a16z, Ribbit lead $175M round for Morpho at up to $2B

Morpho raised $175M, valuing the DeFi lender up to $2B. TVL is $6.6B across Ethereum, HyperEVM, and other chains, per a Fortune report.

The round was led by Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, and a16z crypto. Apollo Funds, Circle’s venture unit, and VanEck also joined according to Fortune.

The deal was structured in crypto and priced at the token’s average monthly price. The exact cost varied by when investors entered, co-founder Paul Frambot told Fortune.

Morpho lets users create custom lending markets with their own risk settings. It’s pitched as a way to build “your own Aave.” Aave holds about $12.5B in TVL, while Morpho’s $6.6B makes it the No. 2 lender. The gap narrowed after Aave’s exposure to a $290M hack of other protocols in April 2026, per Fortune.

Institutions are already onboard. Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital, and Galaxy Digital use Morpho’s infrastructure, Fortune reports.

Frambot, 25, founded Morpho at 20 with Merlin Egalite, Julien Thomas, and Mathis Gontier Delaunay. He said, “TradFi is going to have to wear shorts,” as the team positions Morpho for an eventual public debut and courts Wall Street, per Fortune.