How Centrifuge uses Morpho to make tokenized stock exposure productive onchain
Tokenized equities have largely been static exposure. With deSPXA on Morpho, holders can borrow against their S&P 500 position, turning it into usable collateral within onchain markets.Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge Labs
This is the shift from tokenization to functionality. Equity exposure used to require a broker. Now it requires a wallet.
The Opportunity
Centrifuge has over $2B in tokenized assets onchain. Its SPXA is the first tokenized S&P 500 index fund licensed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, built natively onchain on Base. It tracks the index directly from the source rather than wrapping an existing ETF.
With its deRWA standard, Centrifuge wraps these regulated fund tokens into deSPXA, a freely transferable version designed to plug into DeFi. Without that wrapper, the token is stuck in a closed, permissioned environment where the only thing a holder can do is hold the position and collect yield.
That’s where most tokenized assets still are today. Issuers spend months getting the legal structure, custody, and compliance right. The token goes live. And then it just sits there.
The opportunity: put these assets onchain and make them actually usable in the onchain financial ecosystem.
The Solution
Centrifuge worked with Steakhouse Financial to launch deSPXA on Morpho. Steakhouse curated vaults supply the borrowing liquidity, giving deSPXA holders access to borrow against their position from day one.
A deSPXA holder deposits their tokenized S&P 500 position as collateral on Morpho and borrows USDC against it. They keep the equity exposure and get liquid capital to use however they want. They can deploy into another yield position, hedge, or just free up liquidity without having to sell.
That’s what changes when a tokenized asset becomes collateral. Before this, a deSPXA holder’s only option was to sit on the position. Now they can put it to work, collateralize it on Morpho and use the borrowed capital for more elaborate strategies.
The Results
deSPXA holders on Morpho can now borrow USDC against their tokenized S&P 500 position. That opens up a few things:
Liquidity without selling. A holder keeps their S&P 500 exposure and gets USDC to deploy elsewhere. No need to exit the position to access capital.
Carry trades. If S&P 500 returns exceed the USDC borrow rate, a holder can loop the position: deposit deSPXA, borrow USDC, buy more deSPXA, and amplify returns. This is the same kind of strategy that already runs on Morpho for Treasury-backed and other RWA collateral types.
A template for tokenized assets. This is the part that matters for the broader market. Centrifuge’s full deRWA suite (deJTRSY, deJAAA, deSPXA) can all follow the same path onto Morpho. And the setup isn’t exclusive to Centrifuge. Any tokenization platform with a freely transferable token can list it as collateral, find a curator willing to lend against it, and give their holders access to borrowing.
The tokenized RWA market is approaching $20B and projected to cross $100B by end of 2026. Most of those assets are still passive holdings. Morpho is where they start working.