The crypto world loves a good feud, and the latest one pits Core Foundation against Maple Finance over a proposed bitcoin (BTC) yield product called syrupBTC. Core alleges intellectual property infringement and breach of contract, securing a court injunction to halt the launch. The dispute highlights the growing pains of “hybrid DeFi” and the risks of integrating traditional finance principles into decentralized systems.
At the heart of the matter is Core’s accusation that Maple Finance is leveraging confidential information gained during a collaborative effort to develop a BTC staking yield offering. The product, lstBTC, was designed to allow users to earn yield on BTC collateral held with reputable custodians. Core claims that Maple’s syrupBTC is a directly competitive product that violates a 24-month exclusivity clause.
According to a statement on X, Core and Maple initially enjoyed a productive partnership starting in early 2025. They worked together to develop lstBTC, aiming to provide a secure and reliable way for users to earn yield on their Bitcoin holdings. The relationship, however, has since deteriorated into a bitter legal battle.
Core’s statement further accuses Maple of mishandling $150 million worth of BTC in an early version of what would become lstBTC, potentially leading to impairment of those funds. Core claims it participated in price protection programs until discovering that it was effectively subsidizing a competing product.
Maple Finance has seen explosive growth, rising from under $500 million to $2.8 billion in assets, which Core believes spurred Maple to develop its own competing product.
Maple Finance responded to the accusations with a brief post, denying any wrongdoing and reassuring users that the dispute is limited to the BTC yield pilot program. Notably, Maple’s statement does not address any of the specific claims made by Core, keeping the details of their defense close to the vest.
Adding to the intrigue, the bitcoin yield section of Maple Finance’s website has been conspicuously removed.
Adding fuel to the fire, some suspect the promised yield via lstBTC was directly subsidized by CORE token inflation. This could explain the impairment facing Maple depositors, covering the gap since Core suspended price protection payments.
The CORE token has been on a downward trend since lstBTC’s launch, leading some to believe the unsustainability of this model is the real driver behind Core’s legal action. Core’s Rich Rines warns Maple lenders not to accept a haircut without legal advice, stating funds were to be held in a “bankruptcy-remote structure.”
Piotr Saczuk, founder of Stablewatch, highlights the importance of “human management risk” in decentralized finance (DeFi). As DeFi increasingly integrates with external capital sources, the risk landscape evolves.
Saczuk warns that “in hybrid DeFi, you are underwriting the team and legal structure as much as the code.” This represents a shift from the sector’s usual focus on buggy code as the primary source of vulnerabilities. Millions are routinely lost to minuscule errors in a single line of smart contract code.
The Core-Maple dispute serves as a stark reminder that even in the decentralized world of crypto, traditional legal and business considerations still apply. As DeFi continues to mature and attract institutional investment, these “hybrid” risks will only become more prominent.
