Cayman Court Grants Core Foundation Injunction to Stop Maple Finance’s Bitcoin Product
A significant authorized showdown within the crypto world has taken a pointy flip after the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands granted Core Foundation an injunction blocking Maple Finance from launching syrupBTC, its upcoming Bitcoin yield product.
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The ruling marks a major escalation in a dispute centered on allegations of breached confidentiality, violated exclusivity agreements, and improper dealing with of lender property.
Court Sides With Core Amid Confidentiality and Exclusivity Dispute
The injunction comes after Core Foundation argued that Maple Finance misused confidential info and inside work developed throughout their joint creation of lstBTC, a liquid-staked Bitcoin product unveiled in early 2025.
According to filings, Core invested closely in technical growth, ecosystem help, and go-to-market efforts, serving to Maple appeal to greater than $150 million in Bitcoin from shoppers earlier this yr.
Core claims that from mid-2025, Maple started constructing a competing providing, syrupBTC, whereas nonetheless drawing on Core’s funding, engineering sources, and proprietary insights. The two had been sure by a 24-month exclusivity clause, which Core says Maple knowingly violated.
Justice Jalil Asif KC decided that there are “critical points to be tried,” ruling that monetary damages alone can be inadequate. The decide highlighted two key dangers, Maple doubtlessly shedding or dealing in CORE tokens and the aggressive head begin it could achieve by launching syrupBTC forward of arbitration.
As a end result, Maple is now prohibited from launching or selling the product and from dealing with CORE tokens with out written approval from Core Foundation.
Lender Asset Concerns Raise Further Questions
The battle intensified after Maple knowledgeable lenders of potential impairments affecting hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in Bitcoin held via the prevailing Bitcoin Yield program.
Core Foundation disputes Maple’s declare, noting that Maple beforehand assured lenders funds had been held in bankruptcy-remote buildings with licensed custodians, that means property ought to have remained segregated and totally retrievable.
Core argues the impairment announcement contradicts these assurances and raises broader issues about Maple’s asset administration practices. Maple, nonetheless, denies all allegations, insisting the dispute impacts solely a pilot program and asserting that its wider operations stay unaffected.
A Case With Industry-Wide Implications
Beyond the courtroom, this conflict highlights the growing sensitivity of co-development partnerships within the maturing DeFi ecosystem.
As liquid staking and tokenized Bitcoin merchandise develop into extra aggressive, the injunction units a robust precedent on imposing exclusivity, defending mental property, and clarifying authorized obligations inside decentralized finance.
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With arbitration nonetheless forward, the end result may reshape how future crypto collaborations are negotiated, and the way far courts will go to shield shared innovation.
Cover picture from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
