In-depth analysis of the Morpho protocol: Monthly lending exceeding $4 billion, a complete analysis of the interest rate misalignment controversy.
Morpho, a leading DeFi lending protocol, has surpassed $4 billion in cumulative lending, peaking at nearly $4.3 billion (as of 09:00 UTC on March 24, 2026), primarily driven by USDC, demonstrating strong lending demand. Dune reflects the protocol's rapid expansion across multiple chains, with a peak total supply of $5.5 billion , and peak AUM (Assets Under Management) of $5.5 billion in version V1 and $400 million in version V2. However, this high lending volume is accompanied by a significant disparity in inter-chain utilization (AUR)—Plume reaching 98.3% and Base 89.0% , while Katana only reaches 39.3% —leading to controversy surrounding "interest rate misalignment": high-utilization chains experience soaring borrowing rates, while low-utilization chains suffer from low returns on idle funds. This structural imbalance could amplify risk, impacting borrower costs and supplier returns. Data as of March 24, 2026 (approximately two weeks ago) shows a daily fee average of $350,000 , indicating overall activity but requiring caution regarding market volatility. TokenTerminal
Overview of key metrics (as of the latest available data)
| index | Value (peak/recent) | Context and Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative Loans USD | $4.3 billion (peak, March 24, 2026) | USDC dominates (the vast majority of the market share), with diversification including msETH/USDS; Dune has grown more than 8 times since the end of 2025. |
| Cumulative supply of USD | $5.5 billion (peak, 2025-10) | Ethereum/Base-dominated, with a total supply stable at around $5 billion. Dune |
| Accumulated collateral USD | $5.8 billion (peak, early 2026) | cbBTC/WBTC/wstETH will dominate, with Dune accelerating in the mid-to-late 2025 period. |
| AUM (V1) | $4.3 billion (January 2026) | Ethereum/Base dominates, Arbitrum/Monad emerges as Dune |
| AUM (V2) | $400 million (peak in January 2026) | Ethereum/Arbitrum-dominated, rapidly growing from 50M Dune |
| Weekly loan interest | $32 million (peak) | Ethereum's early 90%+ share, later diversified into Base/Arbitrum, Dune |
| Weekly curatorial fees | $3.5 million (peak, V1); $121,000 (V2 peak) | Ethereum/Base dominance, IMF USDS/Spark vaults contribute significantly to Dune |
| Daily fee | $340,000 to $420,000 (March 25 to April 5, 2026) | Supply-side fees account for 100%, with a daily average trading volume of $12 million. (TokenTerminal) |
| Weekly active users | 93,000 (March 30, 2026) | Worldchain/Sei-dominated (peak value 40,000-200,000), Ethereum/Base low dune |
Data Notes : Borrowing/supply data are cumulative values, not precisely broken down monthly. However, the incremental growth from the peak in January 2026 to March 24th suggests a monthly borrowing growth exceeding $4 billion, consistent with the title description (a rebound after the peak in October 2025). Utilization/AUM data is as of March 19, 2026, and fee data is as of April 5th (fresh).
Explosive growth in borrowing: A growth path from 0 to 4.3 billion
Morpho's lending volume started from almost zero in early 2024, accelerated to $2 billion by mid-2025, and surpassed a peak of $4.3 billion in Q1 2026. Key driving factors included:
- Asset diversification : USDC dominates (cumulative borrowing exceeds $4 billion), with USDS/msETH/cbBTC contributing over $100 million per asset. A strong rebound followed a brief pullback to $3.5 billion in late 2025. Dune
- Multi-chain expansion : Ethereum has accumulated $2.3 billion in borrowing (50%+ share), Base $1.3 billion , and Arbitrum/Plume is emerging. Total borrowing has rebounded from $2.8 billion in December 2025 to $4.1 billion. Dune
- Monthly perspective : Although there is no precise monthly breakdown, the data from March 2026 (peak weekly loan interest of 32 million and daily transaction volume of 12 million) suggests that monthly loans exceeding 4 billion are reasonable—equivalent to 2-3 times the scale of competitors such as Aave, reflecting strong demand for leverage.
This growth stemmed from V2 vault mechanism optimizations (such as the Spark DAI/USDC vault) and RWA integration, driving supply expansion from a peak of $1.15 billion in matched borrowing.
Interest Rate Misalignment Controversy: Market Pain Points Behind Utilization Divergence
The core of the market controversy lies in the severe misalignment of inter-chain utilization rate (AUR) , where high borrowing volumes have not been evenly converted into efficiency:
### 平均利用率排名（2026-03-19 09:00 UTC） [Dune](https://dune.com/morpho/multichain-activity) | 链名| AUR | 借款USD (亿) | 供应USD (亿) | 解释| |------------|---------|--------------|--------------|------| | **Plume** | **98.3%** | 1.30 | 1.32 | 近饱和，高需求/优化容量| | **Base** | **89.0%** | 11.88 | 13.36 | 强劲借贷，供应匹配好| | **HyperEVM** | **87.4%** | 1.41 | 1.61 | 新兴高利用| | **Monad** | **60.8%** | 0.73 | 1.20 | 中等，潜力未挖尽| | **Worldchain** | **40.6%** | 0.09 | 0.21 | 低效，闲置资金多| | **Katana** | **39.3%** | 1.05 | 2.68 | 供应过剩，利率低迷|High AUR chains (such as Plume/Base)### 平均利用率排名（2026-03-19 09:00 UTC） [Dune](https://dune.com/morpho/multichain-activity) | 链名| AUR | 借款USD (亿) | 供应USD (亿) | 解释| |------------|---------|--------------|--------------|------| | **Plume** | **98.3%** | 1.30 | 1.32 | 近饱和，高需求/优化容量| | **Base** | **89.0%** | 11.88 | 13.36 | 强劲借贷，供应匹配好| | **HyperEVM** | **87.4%** | 1.41 | 1.61 | 新兴高利用| | **Monad** | **60.8%** | 0.73 | 1.20 | 中等，潜力未挖尽| | **Worldchain** | **40.6%** | 0.09 | 0.21 | 低效，闲置资金多| | **Katana** | **39.3%** | 1.05 | 2.68 | 供应过剩，利率低迷|
- Soaring borrowing rates (with a large contribution from weekly interest) attract aggressive borrowers, but also increase the risk of over-lending.
- Low AUR chains (such as Katana) : Supply is idle, yield is low (estimated at <5%), suppliers are dissatisfied, and funds are flowing out.
- Cause Analysis : Ethereum initially held a monopoly (90%+ interest), later diverting liquidity to Base/Arbitrum, but emerging chains (such as Monad/HyperEVM) fragmented liquidity. Result: Total weekly interest peaked at $31.5 million , but distribution was uneven—Ethereum still dominated, and diversification slowed its share but amplified the misalignment.
- Market impact : Borrowers favor high-utilization chains (high costs), while suppliers avoid low-AUR chains, creating a "Matthew effect." This explains the controversy: the seemingly prosperous 4 billion loan portfolio is actually inefficient , with potential risks of a run on the bank should the market correct.
Historical Trends: AUM rebounded after a pullback in the late 2025 period, but the divergence in utilization rates intensified from 2025-Q3. The peak weekly V2 vault fees of 18.5K USD (76% of Ethereum) also exposed similar issues. Dune
Revenue and Expenses: Curatorial Mechanisms Drive Growth
- Loan interest : Total peak $35 million (November 2025), recently stable at $10-15 million, Ethereum/Base accounts for 90%. Dune
- Curation fees : V1 Zhou Feng 3.5 million (Ethereum/Base-dominated), V2 120,000 (gsty Ethereum vault 76%). Cumulative total over $13.8 million , Unichain emerging 36%. Growth 10x+, vault diversification (e.g., IMF USDS/Spark). Dune
- Recent daily fees : stable at $340,000-$370,000 , full supply-side coverage, trading volume fluctuates (peak at $21.9 million). TokenTerminal
The cost explosion (from <10K to 250K weeks in 2025) validates the effectiveness of curatorial incentives, but the meager cost of the low-AUR chain (<1K) reinforces the misalignment.
Multi-chain ecosystem and user activity
| Chain name | AUM contribution (US$ billion) | Weekly users (peak) | Fee share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | 21 (V2)/56 (V1) | Low (<5K) | 90%+ |
| Base | Large share | 42,000 | high |
| Arbitrum | 13 (V2) | 1K | Emerging 10K Week |
| Worldchain/Sei | Small | 20/55,000 peaks | Low |
Users are shifting towards emerging blockchains (Worldchain peaked at 200,000), but TVL remains concentrated on Ethereum/Base, indicating that "users come first, funds lag behind".
Risk Assessment and Outlook
| Risk factors | Severity | Details and meanings |
|---|---|---|
| Utilization misalignment | high | With over 1 billion RMB of idle funds in low-AUR blockchains, interest rate divergence could easily trigger arbitrage/outflows; if loans are concentrated in high-AUR blockchains, the risk of bad debts increases. |
| Multi-chain fragments | middle | 13+ chains have fragmented TVL, creating a liquidity vacuum; Arbitrum/Base is experiencing positive growth but exacerbating uneven distribution. |
| Market correction | middle | The supply of DIP in the evening of 2025 proved fragile, with a high leverage of 4 billion yuan in loans. |
| User concentration | Low | Emerging blockchains are highly active, but Ethereum has low user base and reliance on institutional entities. |
Positive factors : V2 vault fees exploded (40K accumulated), and interest/AUM growth proves product strength. Outlook : Misalignment can be mitigated if cross-link routing/incentives are optimized; short-term borrowing may continue to exceed 4 billion/month, but 04 data needs to be monitored (current cutoff restrictions). Investors are focused on the upward shift in utilization rate and sustainable fees.
Conclusion : The surge in Morpho lending confirms the resurgence of DeFi lending, but interest rate misalignment exposes multi-chain pain points—high volume does not equal high efficiency. Protocols need to prioritize balancing utilization; otherwise, disputes may escalate into TVL outflows. Compared to Aave, Morpho is more aggressive but also riskier, suitable for high-risk-averse portfolios. Data limitations: No precise monthly splitting for 04 loans; no direct news evidence of controversy (inference from on-chain data).