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Integrating Morpho Rewards

Morpho's rewards system allows protocols, DAOs, and token issuers to incentivize specific behaviors on the Morpho protocol—such as supplying assets to vaults, borrowing from markets, or providing collateral. As an integrator, your role is to help users discover, track, and claim these rewards through your application.

Understanding the Rewards Ecosystem

Rewards on Morpho are distributed through two primary systems:

  1. Merkl (Primary - Current Standard)
  2. Morpho URD (Legacy - Historical Programs)

Merkl: The Current Standard

Merkl is a third-party rewards distribution platform that now handles most Morpho ecosystem rewards. It offers:

  • Flexible distribution: Rewards updated every 8 hours
  • Multi-protocol support: Used across DeFi, not just Morpho
  • Automated calculations: Offchain computation of eligible rewards
  • Standardized claiming: Consistent API and claiming process
When to use Merkl:
  • All new reward programs (July 2025 onwards)
  • Third-party incentive programs
  • Current MORPHO token distributions

Morpho URD: Legacy Support

The Universal Rewards Distributor (URD) was Morpho's native rewards system. While new programs use Merkl, the URD still holds claimable rewards from historical programs.

When to support URD:
  • Legacy MORPHO distributions (pre-July 2025)
  • Historical vault and market rewards distributions
  • Unclaimed rewards from completed campaigns

Who Should Integrate Rewards?

You should integrate rewards if you're building:

  • Earn Products: Display additional APR from rewards alongside base vault yield
  • Borrow Products: Show borrowers incentives for taking loans or supplying collateral
  • Portfolio Dashboards: Provide users with a complete view of their Morpho earnings
  • Aggregators: Compare total yields (base + rewards) across protocols
  • Reward Platforms: Create specialized UIs for rewards discovery and claiming

What You'll Need to Integrate

A complete rewards integration involves three main components:

1. Rewards Discovery & Display

Fetch and display available rewards for vaults and markets:

  • Query reward rates from Merkl API or Morpho API
  • Calculate total APY (base yield + reward APR)
  • Show reward token types and amounts
  • Display program timelines and eligibility

2. User Balance Tracking

Show users their accrued and claimable rewards:

  • Fetch user-specific reward balances
  • Display rewards by token and program
  • Calculate USD values of rewards
  • Update balances in real-time

3. Claiming Interface

Enable users to claim their rewards:

  • Support Merkl claim flow (primary)
  • Support Morpho URD claim flow (legacy)
  • Handle transaction signing and confirmation
  • Provide claim status feedback

Integration Paths

Choose your integration approach based on your needs:

Quick Start (Display Only)

Just want to show rewards APR alongside base yield? Start here:

  1. Fetch Rewards Data - Learn to query both APIs
  2. Integrate Display - Show rewards in your UI

Full Integration (Display + Claiming)

Building a complete product? Follow this path:

  1. Understand Reward Programs - Learn the different program types
  2. Compare Distribution Systems - Understand Distribution
  3. Fetch Rewards Data - Query rewards information
  4. Claim Rewards - Implement claiming for both systems
  5. Complete Integration Guide - See a full working example

Creating Rewards (Issuers)

Are you a protocol or DAO looking to create a rewards program?

  1. Understand Reward Programs - Learn program types
  2. Create a Program - Step-by-step program creation

Key Resources

Next Steps

Ready to start integrating? Here's what to do next:

Understand the Concepts

Read about Reward Programs and Distribution Systems to understand how rewards work.

Fetch Rewards Data

Follow the Fetch Rewards Data tutorial to learn how to query reward information from both APIs.

Implement Claiming

Use the Claim Rewards tutorial to enable users to claim their rewards.

See a Complete Example

Check out the Complete Integration Guide for a full working reference implementation.

Need Help?