Wall Street giant Apollo follows BlackRock in DeFi push with Morpho token deal

Apollo Global Management (APO) is making a bold move into the world of cryptocurrency, striking a groundbreaking deal that could position the $938 billion asset manager as a major token holder in a decentralized lending platform. This strategic partnership marks a significant step in Apollo’s expanding blockchain footprint and signals a growing trend of traditional financial giants embracing decentralized finance (DeFi).

The firm has signed a cooperation agreement with the Morpho Association, the French non-profit organization behind the Morpho protocol. This agreement allows Apollo and its affiliates to acquire up to 90 million MORPHO tokens over the next four years. The purchases may be made through open-market buys, over-the-counter transactions, and other arrangements, subject to ownership caps and transfer restrictions. Galaxy Digital UK acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Morpho in this deal.

Beyond token acquisition, Apollo and Morpho have committed to working together to support lending markets built on Morpho’s protocol. Morpho provides infrastructure for on-chain lending markets and curator-managed vaults that allocate assets across them. The protocol is governed by holders of the MORPHO token, and this 90 million token stake would translate to a 9% share of the protocol’s governance token’s total supply.

This move adds to Apollo’s expanding blockchain footprint. Last year, the firm made a “seven-figure” investment in blockchain project Plume, which focuses on bringing traditional financial products on-chain. Apollo’s credit strategies have already been tokenized via third parties. Tokenization specialist Securitize issues ACRED, a token that gives exposure to the Apollo Diversified Credit Fund, while Anemoy offers ACRDX, which tracks Apollo’s global private and public credit strategies.

The agreement comes as other asset managers test decentralized finance rails. Earlier this week, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced it will make shares of its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, tradable on decentralized exchange Uniswap and purchased an undisclosed amount of the protocol’s governance token UNI.

This strategic move by Apollo Global Management represents a significant milestone in the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized finance. As more institutional investors explore the potential of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, we can expect to see further integration between these two worlds, potentially reshaping the future of finance.

#Tags:
#ApolloGlobalManagement #Crypto #DecentralizedFinance #MORPHO #Blockchain #Tokenization #InstitutionalInvestors #DeFi #MorphoProtocol #GalaxyDigital #Plume #Securitize #Anemoy #BlackRock #BUIDL #Uniswap #UNI #FinancialInnovation #DigitalAssets #OnChainFinance

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