Morpho Secures $175M Funding, Aiming to Disrupt Wall Street

WHO:

Techmeme - Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol, was co-founded by Paul Frambot, Merlin Egalite, Julien Thomas, and Mathis Gontier Delaunay.

NewsBTC - Investors in Morpho's funding round included Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, a16z Crypto, Apollo Funds, Circle's venture unit, and VanEck.

WHAT:

Techmeme - Morpho raised $175 million in a token sale.

NewsBTC - The funding round valued Morpho at up to $2 billion.

NewsBTC - Morpho currently holds $6.6 billion in total value locked (TVL).

NewsBTC - Morpho is positioned as the second-largest player in the decentralized lending space, with Aave holding nearly $12.5 billion in TVL.

NewsBTC - Aave experienced significant exposure to a $290 million hack of other crypto protocols in April 2026.

WHERE:

NewsBTC - Morpho operates on Ethereum, HyperEVM, and other blockchains.

NewsBTC - Morpho's existing user base includes Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital, and Galaxy Digital.

WHEN:

NewsBTC - The funding round was reported on June 9.

WHY:

NewsBTC - Morpho aims to bring traditional financial institutions into decentralized finance (DeFi).

NewsBTC - Paul Frambot stated, “I think TradFi is going to have to wear shorts,” highlighting the cultural gap between traditional finance and the crypto community.

HOW:

NewsBTC - The investment was structured in cryptocurrency and priced at the token's average monthly price, with costs varying based on participant contributions.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 15:58 UTC)

Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol co-founded by Paul Frambot, Merlin Egalite, Julien Thomas, and Mathis Gontier Delaunay, has successfully raised $175 million in a token sale, valuing the company at up to $2 billion. The funding round attracted notable investors including Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, a16z Crypto, Apollo Funds, Circle's venture unit, and VanEck, and Morpho currently boasts a total value locked of $6.6 billion, making it the second-largest player in the decentralized lending space. With ambitions to integrate traditional financial institutions into decentralized finance, Frambot emphasized the cultural divide between traditional finance and the crypto community, stating, “I think TradFi is going to have to wear shorts.”