Onchain finance does not eliminate intermediation. It makes intermediation contestable.
In the old model the rate is largely whatever the institution that owns the relationship decides to charge. In an open model the borrower can remain inside Coinbase, a bank, a fintech or a marketplace, while eligible lenders compete behind that door. The interface is branded. The balance sheet is modular. The terms are a market. Settlement is programmable.
Morpho’s own roadmap says the quiet part: institutions want control of risk, liquidity, fees and price, not a single pooled product. Midnight’s fixed-term offers let a lender state the return and the duration they require, and let a borrower take the offer. That is a market, not a yield banner.