MakerDAO May Expand Non-cryptoasset Portfolio With BlockTower, Centrifuge

A $220 million “real-world asset” vault may soon be available to DeFi investors

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

Cryptocurrency investment firm BlockTower Credit and DeFi lending protocol MakerDAO will vote on whether to fund $220 million in so-called real-world assets through Centrifuge.

If the vote passes, BlockTower will provide $70 million in junior capital —  that is, funds allocated to speculative activity and used for high-risk, high-reward investments — and Maker will approve $150 million in senior capital to create a $220 million pool on Centrifuge, a Berlin-based protocol that is bridging real-world assets to DeFi through tokenization. 

A community greenlight poll was passed on Aug. 15, with over 75% of MKR token holders voting in favor of including BlockTower Credit in the Maker Protocol via the Core Units. But further voting is required to complete the onboarding of real-world asset collateral in the Maker protocol.

“We believe Maker’s long term interests are best served through a diversified set of high-quality arrangers, credit exposures, and other partners — we look forward to helping Maker raise the bar,” Kevin Miao, head of credit at BlockTower, wrote in a governance forum post. 

Funding of real-world credit assets will be powered through Tinlake — a Centrifuge smart contract on the Ethereum network.

RWA owners are able to create a pool of their assets and offer it to DeFi investors on Tinlake. These assets will create a stable yield for investors and provide liquidity to issuers who set up and operate the pools. In the case of BlockTower and Maker, the proposed stable yield will sit at 4%.

According to Centrifuge, Tinlake’s smart contract eliminates a third party “trust layer” by embedding the process into the code. 

“We think it’s a prime example of how institutional investors are moving to safer crypto investments, ones that provide true utility and tangible ROI,” a Centrifuge spokesperson told Blockworks.

Centrifuge Tinlake has already brought over $25 million in assets to Maker through existing real-world asset vaults. 

Voting will go on chain on Friday Dec. 9 and a decision is expected to be made by early next week.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

In this report, each analyst on the Blockworks Research team lays out their highest conviction thesis for 2025.

article-image

Accountable CEO Wojtek Pawlowski told Blockworks that his firm is looking to reawaken the crypto credit space with more transparency

article-image

Like Michael Saylor’s firm, Sol Strategies is focused on acquiring crypto as a treasury asset

article-image

Bitwise argued in its 2025 outlook report that bitcoin ETFs will attract more flows in 2025 than they did in 2024

article-image

Odds of an interest rate cut later this month are all but out the window

article-image

Exploring the drama surrounding a shiny new stablecoin

article-image

Asset Reality’s Aidan Larkin explains how the US government offloads bitcoin