Lending protocol Morpho has launched Morpho Midnight On-Base, adding fixed-rate, fixed-term loans to its Onchain credit network alongside the variable rate markets offered by Morpho Blue.
In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Morpho said the offer-driven protocol allows lenders and borrowers to propose their own interest rates, maturities and other loan terms, rather than relying on protocol-defined usage curves. Loans are issued as fixed obligations, with terms determined through competitive bids rather than algorithmic pool pricing.
Expected rates and fixed maturities are standard features of traditional credit markets. However, they remain uncommon in decentralized finance (DeFi), where borrowing costs typically fluctuate based on market usage. Fixed terms can make leveraged loans more attractive to institutions and businesses that need to manage funding costs, repayments and risk exposure in advance.
A Morpho spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Midnight Basemain is live on the net, initially supporting cbBTC and USDC across multiple maturity dates. Morpho intentionally positioned the launch as part of a progressive rollout that prioritizes security, the spokesperson said.
Crypto local lenders, lenders and curators already active on Morpho Blue had expressed interest in Midnight, the spokesperson said. Several unnamed enterprises and institutions are also building products on the protocol in beta, with announcements expected when those products go live.
Morpho’s fixed rate lending plans take shape.
Morpho first sketch Fixed rate system in 2025 under a broader “Morpho V2” roadmap. It describes an intent-based, peer-to-peer marketplace where users can submit customized offers, price loans through market demand and maintain a variable yield of capital earnings until matched by a fixed rate offer.
In April, Morpho Nominee Fixed Rate Protocol Midnight and clarified that it is not a replacement for Morpho Blue. While Blue provides open-ended, variable-rate lending pools, Midnight excludes loan risk, interest rate and term for market participants.
Then the protocol Continued Midnight’s white paper and codebase in May, stating that its “offering capital” model was intended to avoid a recurring problem for fixed-rate default protocols: liquidity being locked in or split between maturity dates.
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Midnight’s launch follows Morpho’s $175 million funding round in June, led by Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Crypto and Rabbit Capital. At the time, Morpho said it planned to expand integration with banks, asset managers and major platforms by adding features associated with traditional credit markets.
Morpho’s infrastructure already underpins variable rate lending products distributed by major crypto platforms. In April, Coinbase launched Morpho-powered USDC loans for United Kingdom customers, allowing them to borrow against Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and cbETH on Base.
The loans had variable rates and no fixed repayment schedule, with plans to settle at midnight.
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