DeFi Lending Explodes: Morpho Fuels Record Vault Curator Activity
Vault curators are working overtime—DeFi lending just hit a new gear.
The Morpho Effect
Forget clunky, one-size-fits-all lending pools. A fresh architecture is cutting out the middleman, letting lenders and borrowers connect directly. It bypasses traditional liquidity bottlenecks, creating a market that's more efficient and, frankly, more competitive. The result? Sharper rates and a system that actually scales with demand.
Curators in the Driver's Seat
This isn't automated magic. It's powered by vault curators—the strategists setting the rules for these new lending markets. Their activity isn't just high; it's peaked. They're the ones tuning the risk parameters, deciding which assets to support, and ultimately, where the capital flows. Their surge in engagement is the clearest signal that real, sophisticated money is building here.
Why This Isn't Just Another Protocol
This growth spurt exposes a quiet truth in decentralized finance: the infrastructure is maturing. We're moving past the era of simple yield farms into complex, capital-efficient systems that would give a traditional bank's risk department nightmares. It turns out, when you remove the loan officer and the quarterly earnings call, capital finds a way to move a lot faster.
The momentum is undeniable. A more efficient lending layer isn't just a nice-to-have—it's the bedrock for the next wave of DeFi applications. Just don't expect your traditional financial advisor to understand it; they're still trying to figure out if Bitcoin is a 'real' asset.
Steakhouse Finance increased its value under management, with most inflows into its USDC vaults. | Source: Token Terminal
The growth of the sector boosted all curators, though specific risk managers noted even larger growth for their own activity. Curators are no longer just technically spreading funds to different vaults, but are actively managing risks.
Based on Token Terminal data, curators saw a rapid increase in total deposits, with some of the top projects doubling their value locked.
Steakhouse leads vault curators
Steakhouse is the leading vault curator, with the highest value locked. Around 52.5% of the value deposits are in USDC, with smaller vaults using USDT or ETH.
Steakhouse recently broke above $1.8B on all its vaults, extending its growth despite short-term shocks and several smaller vaults that suffered from low liquidity.
The Steakhouse vaults have actively unrolled to Coinbase users, with new apps and wallets added as partners. The expansion of USDC and demand for passive yield turned Steakhouse into the top risk curator.
The Steakhouse USDC vault on Morpho has a top safety profile, with a 3.6% yield. The vault holds $436.95M, with over $110M in available liquidity, remaining accessible to borrowers, as well as lenders that may want to withdraw their stake.
Morpho added $1.1B in January
Morpho reflected the attractiveness of curated vaults. The role of Steakhouse, Gauntlet, Spark, and Smokehouse was to attract new users.
Morpho locked in $6.91B in mid-January, up from a local low of $5.79B at the end of 2025. The growth also happened with the rise of Morpho V2. The new version will allow even more flexible lending by also bringing off-chain lending agreements to the protocol. Morpho V2 also allows custom rates, terms of the loan, grace periods, and collateral adjustments.
Onchain lending is expected to expand in 2026, driven mostly by Aave and Morpho. In total, risk curators carry $6.58B, as the value locked recovered in early 2026. Just behind Steakhouse Financial, Gauntlet, Sentora, MEV Capital, and others are still expanding their influence.
If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.
