First L2 sees expansion of DeFi Protocol with launch on Base
Morpho, a lending and borrowing protocol for decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum, has now expanded to its first layer-2 with the launch on Base. Base is an L2 scaling network for Ethereum that was introduced by Coinbase in 2023.
Although Morpho originally launched on the Ethereum blockchain, its decision to go live on Base allows it to tap into a growing DeFi ecosystem.
Morpho serves as a protocol for providing a peer-to-peer platform for liquidity, enabling users to access a more robust capital utilization rate.
The CEO of Morpho Labs, Paul Frambot, expressed his thoughts on the deployment on Base. He initially opposed the idea of expanding onto a second chain but has since changed his stance. Frambot stated that Morpho now has the potential to become the top lending and borrowing protocol on Base.
Morpho’s launch on Base introduces various features for the community to take advantage of, including MetaMorpho Vaults, which offers optimized yields through passive lending. Users can earn by depositing assets into a vault. Additionally, users can borrow from Morpho Markets by depositing collateral. For example, the cbETH/USDC market allows users to borrow the USDC stablecoin with cbETH as collateral.
With Base gaining greater adoption across the market, the potential onboarding of the next wave of users will be crucial for the growth of Morpho.
According to DeFiLlama data, Morpho currently has a total value locked (TVL) of $1.82 billion. At the beginning of the year, the TVL was approximately $597 million, indicating a year-to-date increase of nearly 205% in the on-chain P2P layer.
