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The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has granted Core Foundation an injunction blocking Maple Finance from launching syrupBTC, a competing bitcoin yield product that Core alleges was developed using stolen trade secrets.
The ruling, issued by Justice Jalil Asif KC, prevents Maple from dealing in CORE tokens or using confidential information while arbitration proceeds over claims that Maple violated a 24-month exclusivity agreement tied to their $150 million lstBTC partnership.
At the core of the Core Foundation lawsuit is the lstBTC product, a liquid staked Bitcoin instrument developed in early 2025 that quickly helped Maple Finance attract more than $150 million in BTC deposits.
The partnership, announced at Consensus Hong Kong 2025, was designed to give institutional Bitcoin holders yield without surrendering custody — with BitGo and other custodians helping streamline the structure.
Core Foundation claims it invested significant technical resources, marketing spend, and subsidy capital, only to discover that by mid-2025 Maple was allegedly developing syrupBTC in secret. This competitive product, Core argues, directly violated the 24-month exclusivity clause both parties signed.
“This wasn’t just a disagreement — this was an alleged betrayal of trust and misuse of proprietary work,” a Core Foundation representative familiar with the Core Foundation lawsuit said privately.
The Cayman Islands court concluded that awarding damages would be insufficient for the Core Foundation lawsuit, noting that Maple could dispose of CORE tokens or gain an irreversible market edge if syrupBTC launched.
The injunction explicitly prohibits Maple from:
Using Core’s confidential information
Launching syrupBTC or similar offerings
Dealing in CORE tokens without written consent
Rich Rines of Core DAO issued a stark warning to lenders involved in Maple’s Bitcoin Yield product:
“We do not believe they have a right to impair your BTC,” Rines said, urging lenders to seek independent legal counsel. Rich Rines, Core DAO contributor
Maple indicated it may declare impairments worth millions for Bitcoin Yield lenders — a move Core Foundation calls legally questionable and potentially harmful.
Core maintains that all Bitcoin should remain protected in a bankruptcy-remote segregated structure, a design specifically chosen to prevent lender assets from covering Maple’s operational liabilities.
The lstBTC design included hedged downside protection with third-party put options, many provided by Core Foundation itself.
Core confirmed it honored payouts for months until it discovered what it describes as Maple’s “material and concealed breaches” — a turning point that feeds directly into the ongoing Core Foundation lawsuit.
BitcoinYield has since removed Maple from its tracking database, citing litigation risk and potential fund losses, while Maple simultaneously removed its Bitcoin Yield product from public view.
Despite mounting pressure from the Core Foundation lawsuit, Maple Finance denies all allegations. In a public statement, the firm said it intends to pursue:
“all available remedies aggressively” Maple Finance spokesperson
Core, however, maintains it will push the Core Foundation lawsuit as far as necessary “to protect the community.”
As the arbitration phase approaches, the broader crypto industry is watching closely — with the outcome poised to influence standards for yield products, exclusivity arrangements, and intellectual property boundaries across digital finance.
