MORPHO, the native token of the Morpho Protocol, experienced a significant surge, rising over 30% to achieve a new all-time high on New Year’s Eve. The token’s value climbed to an intraday high of $3.61, supported by a 153% increase in trading volume, which reached $144.7 million over 24 hours. Over the past month, MORPHO’s price has increased by more than 160%.
This surge in value has elevated the total value locked (TVL) within the Morpho Protocol to $5.26 billion. The decentralized finance protocol has seen its TVL, daily fees, and monthly active users grow rapidly, coinciding with its expansion into Ethereum’s layer-2 network ecosystem.
As a platform for on-chain loans, Morpho offers a variety of use cases, such as credit card and savings functionalities, permissioned markets, and bridge asset deposits, and has integrated with platforms like Moonwell, Centrifuge, and Coinbase.
The increased interest in Morpho’s products has attracted significant attention from institutional investors, exemplified by a recently completed $50 million funding round. This round was spearheaded by Ribbit Capital and included contributions from leading venture capital firms such as a16z, Pantera Capital, Fenbushi Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, positioning Morpho for long-term success.
In addition to recent financial activities, the broader cryptocurrency industry received a boost following the election of Donald Trump in November, with various DeFi tokens witnessing a bull market rally. Meanwhile, the sector faces scrutiny from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which has implemented new broker reporting rules that have met with resistance from DeFi proponents.
