Apollo Global Management, the alternative asset giant with $938 billion under management, has agreed to acquire up to 90 million governance tokens in DeFi lending protocol Morpho (MORPHO) over the next four years.
The deal gives Apollo a potential 9% stake in Morpho's total token supply and direct influence over the protocol's development - a step that goes well beyond passive tokenization.
The Morpho Association announced the partnership on Thursday. Galaxy Digital UK Limited served as Morpho's exclusive financial adviser on the transaction.
What the Deal Includes
Under the agreement, Apollo or its affiliates may buy MORPHO tokens through public market purchases, over-the-counter trades, and other contractual arrangements over a 48-month period. The tokens are subject to transfer and trading restrictions.
MORPHO has a total supply of 1 billion tokens. At around $1.19 per token at the time of the announcement, the 90 million token cap valued the deal at roughly $107 million.
The partnership extends beyond token accumulation. Apollo's tokenized credit fund - the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund, or ACRED - already operates lending strategies on Morpho.
Launched in January 2025 through tokenization platform Securitize, ACRED lets investors use tokenized shares of Apollo's credit fund as collateral to borrow stablecoins on decentralized platforms.
Read also: Why Pompliano Says Bitcoin Will Become 'More Valuable Than Ever' Despite Cooling Inflation
Why It Matters
The deal is notable less for its dollar size and more for what it represents structurally.
MORPHO tokens carry governance rights over the protocol, meaning Apollo is not simply investing in a token - it is acquiring the ability to vote on risk parameters, fee structures, and the direction of a protocol that holds over $10 billion in deposits across EVM chains, according to data cited by Messari.
That makes this one of the few cases where a traditional finance firm has sought governance influence in a major DeFi protocol rather than just building products on top of one.
Context
Apollo's move fits within a broader pattern of institutional interest in onchain lending infrastructure.
BlackRock's tokenized money market fund (BUIDL), Franklin Templeton's onchain treasury fund, and Coinbase's crypto-backed loans powered by Morpho all preceded this deal.
But acquiring governance tokens in a permissionless lending protocol carries risks that differ from standard asset management.
Smart contract vulnerabilities, regulatory uncertainty around DeFi governance, and the illiquidity of protocol tokens during restricted periods are all factors that Apollo's legal and risk teams will need to manage over the 48-month acquisition window.
Apollo reported record fee-related earnings of $2.5 billion for 2025 and expects more than 20% growth in that metric for 2026. Its AUM grew 25% year-over-year to reach $938 billion as of Dec. 31.
Read next: Bitcoin Still 20% Above Its 'Ultimate' Bear Market Bottom, CryptoQuant Warns