Undervalued DeFi lending token with new buyback mechanism

.@maplefinance has been outperforming this month, so I took a closer look at what’s driving $SYRUP higher and whether there’s still an opportunity here. The protocol is generating $118.2M in annualized fees against a $217.3M market cap. That puts $SYRUP at just 1.84x fees. The token is up +36% over the past 30 days, but it is still down 19.4% over 90 days. The recent move is tied to fundamentals: > MIP-021 passed with 99.97% approval, turning $SYRUP buybacks into a rules-based process funded by a fixed share of protocol revenue. This went live July 13, with the first purchases scheduled for August. The underlying business is also growing nicely: • TVL sits at $2.28B, up 8.2% in 30 days • $1.91B is actively borrowed • Fees are up 16.6% over the same period That level of borrowing suggests Maple’s capital is being put to work. More demand for loans means more fees, more revenue, and more capital available for buybacks. This is where the valuation gets interesting: Aave generates around 2.9x Maple’s annualized fees, but trades at 6.8x the market cap. • Aave: 4.29x P/F • Morpho: 4.18x P/F • Maple: 1.84x P/F At Aave’s multiple, Maple would be worth roughly $507M. At Morpho’s, around $494M. Both are about 2.3x above where $SYRUP trades today. The price jump is pricing in the August buybacks; imo this is the start of a rerating for what is a very profitable and sustainable business.