Core Foundation has made a statement regarding its conflict with Maple Finance after a Cayman Islands court granted an injunction against Maple for breaching commercial agreements concerning the development of lstBTC, a Core-led liquid-staked Bitcoin token.

The court’s decision arises from concerns over Maple’s alleged misuse of confidential data belonging to Core Foundation and violation of a 24-month exclusivity agreement. As a result, Maple is restrained from marketing or launching syrupBTC, which is claimed to be a rival product, and from handling CORE tokens without advance written approval until an arbitration process is completed.

A Partnership Gone Awry

Core Foundation asserts that the collaboration initiated in early 2025 aimed to create lstBTC, a Bitcoin yield solution intended to securely manage BTC through companies such as BitGo. They noted that they invested substantial financial and technical support for this initiative, which enjoyed positive feedback upon its public launch at Consensus Hong Kong in February 2025.

Maple Finance reportedly managed assets below $500 million at that time. Core contended that the revenues from the Bitcoin yield product, which began in April 2025, were instrumental in Maple’s subsequent growth. However, by mid-2025, Core accused Maple of utilizing confidential information to develop syrupBTC while benefiting from Core’s resources, thereby violating the exclusivity agreement.

On September 26, a ruling from Justice Jalil Asif KC emphasized that merely providing financial damages would be insufficient given the risk of Maple engaging in CORE token transactions and the advantage it could accrue by introducing its competing product.

Core Foundation mentioned that Maple brought over $150 million worth of Bitcoin to the initial OTC version of the yield product, with expectations that the assets would be held in fully protected separate portfolios by reputable custodians. They stated the BTC yield product included CORE price safeguards via third-party put options, and despite ensuring compliance prior to the alleged violations, Core had to seek an injunction and terminate agreements with Maple. Furthermore, Core indicated uncertainty regarding the rationale for Maple’s inability to return the Bitcoin or its entitlement to impair it, assuming those assets were secured with licensed custodians.

Legal Actions and Responses

In light of these developments, Core expressed concern regarding Maple’s stance and is moving forward with legal actions. Conversely, Maple Finance reiterated its commitment to defending lender rights and dismissed any allegations of misconduct, claiming their business operations remain unaffected.

In a tweet from Maple Finance, they stated:

“Core Foundation’s actions are directly against lender interests. Maple denies any allegations of wrongdoing on its part and will be pursuing all available remedies aggressively to ensure Core Foundation is held responsible for the consequences of their actions.”