Morpho launches onchain fixed-rate credit protocol
22 July 2026 France, US
Image: VRVIRUS/stock.adobe.com
Morpho, a blockchain-based credit network, has launched Morpho Midnight, a protocol to bring fixed-rate, fixed-term lending to onchain credit markets.
The protocol will initially be available on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain.
According to Morpho, the fixed pricing and defined maturities introduced by Midnight bring it up to the typical institutional standard required to manage risk, returns, duration, and regulatory capital.
The protocol also allows participants to set counterparties, collateral parameters, and compliance conditions.
Midnight can be combined with the firm’s existing variable-rate lending protocol, Blue, allowing institutions to offer fixed and variable-rate products without needing a proprietary credit engine, Morpho says.
Commenting on the launch, Paul Frambot, CEO of Morpho, says: “Midnight enables participants to structure loans with defined rates, maturities and counterparties, in a way that aligns with institutional standards and may pave the way to cryptocurrencies becoming an alternative powerhouse in institutional and retail finance products.”
Antonio Garcia-Martinez, head of growth at Base, adds: “Onchain lending has largely stayed variable-rate, which has held it back from serving institutional credit.
“Morpho Midnight closes that gap, and offers a clear signal that the foundations of traditional finance are being rebuilt on open infrastructure.”
Midnight intends to support broader onchain credit activity, including financing backed by tokenised real-world assets, structured protocols, and repo-style transactions, which are areas that have historically been “difficult to replicate” in DeFi lending systems.
The protocol will initially be available on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain.
According to Morpho, the fixed pricing and defined maturities introduced by Midnight bring it up to the typical institutional standard required to manage risk, returns, duration, and regulatory capital.
The protocol also allows participants to set counterparties, collateral parameters, and compliance conditions.
Midnight can be combined with the firm’s existing variable-rate lending protocol, Blue, allowing institutions to offer fixed and variable-rate products without needing a proprietary credit engine, Morpho says.
Commenting on the launch, Paul Frambot, CEO of Morpho, says: “Midnight enables participants to structure loans with defined rates, maturities and counterparties, in a way that aligns with institutional standards and may pave the way to cryptocurrencies becoming an alternative powerhouse in institutional and retail finance products.”
Antonio Garcia-Martinez, head of growth at Base, adds: “Onchain lending has largely stayed variable-rate, which has held it back from serving institutional credit.
“Morpho Midnight closes that gap, and offers a clear signal that the foundations of traditional finance are being rebuilt on open infrastructure.”
Midnight intends to support broader onchain credit activity, including financing backed by tokenised real-world assets, structured protocols, and repo-style transactions, which are areas that have historically been “difficult to replicate” in DeFi lending systems.
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