Base Lending Vaults Climb 133% YTD as Collateral Hits $3.5B

Onchain active collateral in @Morpho x coinbase vaults on base grew roughly 133% year-to-date, rising from $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion, according to figures amplified by Base lead jessepollak on September 23, 2026.

The data was originally posted by davidtsocy, who framed the growth as borrow-and-lend activity "going vertical" on the network. It tracks collateral actively supplied to lending vaults operated jointly by Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol, and Coinbase, the exchange that incubated Base.

Morpho's model lets users supply assets to permissionless lending markets and borrow against onchain collateral. The Coinbase-branded vaults route that infrastructure to the exchange's broader user base, a distribution channel that has become a central part of Base's DeFi strategy.

Extending a 2026 Trend

The numbers continue a pattern in Base's credit markets this year. On September 5, reporting showed outstanding loans on the network reached $2.3 billion, up 31%. Morpho's total deposits on Base had crossed $5 billion in early August.

Base is Coinbase's Ethereum Layer-2 network, built on the OP Stack and led by Pollak. It has no native token; transactions are paid in ETH.

What to Watch

Attention now turns to whether the collateral curve holds as broader crypto markets digest a leveraged shakeout. Any sustained slowdown in borrowing demand would show up first in vault utilization and rates, which have drawn depositors seeking yield on idle stablecoins and ETH.