Key Takeaways:
Morpho, the decentralized lending protocol with about $7.6 billion in total value locked, will deploy fully on HashKey Group's HSK Chain and serve as the network's official onchain credit partner, the companies said Tuesday.
"HashKey becomes our anchor partner in one of the world's most important capital markets," Shan Shan Sui, who leads APAC growth at Morpho, said in a post on X. "This is proof that onchain credit infrastructure is ready to expand via licensed, institutional rails in APAC."
The partnership, signed July 28 at HashKey's headquarters in Hong Kong, gives Morpho its first major institutional foothold in Asia. HashKey Group operates a licensed virtual asset trading platform and holds a Type 9 asset management license from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, making it one of the most heavily regulated crypto operators in the region. Under the deal, HashKey will layer KYC, wallet screening, and access controls on top of Morpho's permissionless lending infrastructure to meet local regulatory requirements.
The two companies plan to develop onchain credit products for institutional and retail users, explore CeDeFi and yield strategies backed by Bitcoin and real-world asset collateral, and bring more institutional-grade assets onto Morpho as eligible collateral. The move extends a year in which Morpho has leaned into distribution through regulated channels rather than direct-to-DeFi growth, powering lending products for exchanges and fintechs. Earlier this year, the protocol raised $175 million in a funding round led by Ribbit Capital with participation from SBI Holdings, valuing the company at over $1 billion.
Morpho's expansion into Hong Kong comes weeks after it unveiled Morpho Midnight, a permissioned lending platform designed for institutional finance. The platform supports regulated onchain credit markets and enables compliant lending against tokenized assets while allowing institutions to meet identity, compliance, and risk management requirements. Hong Kong has become a preferred launchpad for institutional DeFi after introducing a licensing framework for virtual asset trading platforms and promoting tokenization through Project Ensemble and other government initiatives.
MORPHO rose 0.7% in the past 24 hours while HSK slipped 0.8%, according to CoinGecko. Morpho's TVL stood at roughly $7.6 billion as of Tuesday, per DefiLlama.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
