Maple ends staking, turns to buybacks – Is SYRUP entering its ‘maturity’ era?

Key Takeaways 

Why is Maple eyeing buybacks and removing staking? 

To improve protocol sustainability and channel revenue toward long-term value growth instead of short-term emissions.

Will the plans benefit SYRUP value? 

The proposal could be a catalyst, especially amid steady accumulation and protocol growth. 

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DeFi lending giant, Maple Finance [SYRUP], has proposed the removal of its governance token. Additionally, the protocol seeks to launch a buyback program for the token. 

The lending platform said it has matured, and sharing protocol revenue with staked SYRUP (stSYRUP) holders will no longer be sustainable going forward. 

“Staking was instrumental in bootstrapping the SYRUP ecosystem and aligning long-term holders. As the protocol matures, distributing revenue through staking is less efficient than reinvesting in liquidity and protocol strength.”

SYRUP buyback proposal

SYRUP is the new governance and reward token tied to the Maple Finance ecosystem. It replaced the older governance token (MPL) on a 1:1 basis. However, only stakers have been enjoying protocol rewards. 

In the latest proposal, Syrup Strategic Fund (SSF) will be activated and given 25% of protocol revenue to fund buybacks and build liquidity for the DAO.

In H2 2025, Maple generated over $1 million in average monthly revenue, hitting $1.5 million in September. 

At the proposed rate, about $375K would have been allocated to SSF. However, the exact budget for buybacks has not been shared as of this writing.  

The voting on the proposal will run until the 31st of October. If adopted, revenue sharing with stSYRUP holders will end by November. 

The staking rewards are like emissions that add to short-term selling pressure. Hence, Marple argued that removing staking and adding buybacks is positive for SYRUP’s long-term value. 

Maple’s growth and impact on SYRUP

That said, Maple has grown its active loan book to $2.1 billion, ranking fourth after Aave [AAVE], Morpho [MORPHO], and Spark [SPK]. 

In terms of assets under management (AUM), the protocol held over $4 billion at press time, mostly dominated by its yield-bearing stablecoins. With a recent strategic partnership with Aave, the growth could extend. 

SYRUP accumulation trend

On-chain data from Santiment showed a steady drop in Supply on Exchanges, indicating accumulation since July,

Meanwhile, the MVRV Ratio (30d) stayed near 1.5%, suggesting modest profit-taking and room for upside.

With the protocol growth, SYRUP accumulation, and the expected buyback program, can the token climb higher? 

The altcoin was valued at $0.39, and a firm reclaim of $0.40 (a H2 support) would allow bulls to advance northwards. Even so, the momentum was still bearish unless the price tops $0.46.