After years of establishing its dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending, Aave is now entering what could be its most explosive growth phase yet.
With the release of Version 4 (V4), a $50 million token buyback program, and an ambitious expansion into real-world assets (RWA), Aave is strengthening its leadership position.
V4 – A Strategic Milestone Defining Aave’s Future
Data shows that Aave (AAVE) currently controls an impressive 82% of Ethereum’s total outstanding lending debt, the highest level to date. This market share has grown steadily over the past four years, outpacing competitors such as Morpho, Spark, and Compound.
Ethereum lending market share. Source: Kyledoops on X
Moreover, the protocol currently supports around 1,000 unique borrowers per day and manages approximately $25 billion in active loans. Aave’s 30-day trading volume recently reached about $226 billion.
Data from DefiLlama confirms that Aave remains the largest lending protocol in DeFi with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of roughly $36.5 billion.
Aave’s TVL. Source: DefiLlama
The upcoming Aave V4 release is widely regarded as a revolutionary upgrade. It introduces a Unified Liquidity Layer that optimizes capital efficiency across multiple chains while reducing transaction costs.
In addition, Aave aims to deepen the integration of its native stablecoin, GHO, to boost internal liquidity flows and reduce external dependency.
Meanwhile, Aave continues to broaden its influence through initiatives such as Aave Horizon, a permissioned RWA market designed for institutional investors. Its $100 million restructuring plan also aims to strengthen the GHO ecosystem.
These strategic moves represent Aave’s bold effort to merge the best of DeFi and traditional finance. This brings the project closer to its long-term goal of becoming a global liquidity bank for the Web3 era. Aave now ranks among the top 40 US banks by asset size.
$50 Million Annual Buyback: Fueling the AAVE Momentum
The community is paying close attention to the $50 million annual buyback proposal recently introduced by Aave DAO. This initiative is designed to support the token’s price and reinvest in the DAO treasury, bolstering Aave’s financial resilience and long-term sustainability.
Previously, Aave repurchased around $1 million worth of AAVE weekly. If the new proposal is approved, the buying pressure could double to approximately $2 million weekly.
AAVE token buyback. Source: Satoshi Club on X
According to market analyst Ali Charts, the $135 level is becoming a price magnet for AAVE, reflecting growing bullish sentiment after a series of strong updates.
However, not all analysts are convinced that the path forward will be smooth. Some technical experts have warned that AAVE’s current chart pattern resembles a distribution phase, which could precede a correction before the next major leg up.
“Careful with longing any dip or sweep, distributive ranges usually end up with a long downtrend,” cautioned one analyst.
