Aave is the largest decentralized lending and borrowing protocol in cryptocurrency, holding over $55 billion in deposits across 14 blockchain networks as of early 2026. The protocol allows anyone to supply crypto assets to earn interest or borrow against their holdings without a centralized intermediary, bank, or credit check. Aave has processed over $3 trillion in cumulative assets supplied and $950 billion in loans since launch, making it the backbone of decentralized finance (DeFi) lending.
This Aave review covers everything you need to know: how lending and borrowing work, Aave V3 features like Efficiency Mode and Isolation Mode, the upcoming V4 architecture, the GHO stablecoin, AAVE tokenomics, security, governance, and how it compares to alternatives. Whether you are a first-time DeFi user or an experienced yield farmer, this guide provides the data and context to evaluate Aave thoroughly.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Protocol Type | Decentralized lending and borrowing |
| Founded | 2017 (as ETHLend); rebranded to Aave in 2020 |
| Founder | Stani Kulechov |
| Current Version | Aave V3 (V4 on testnet, mainnet expected 2026) |
| Total Value Locked (TVL) | $55 billion (end of 2025); peaked at $75 billion |
| Supported Networks | 14+ (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Scroll, ZKsync Era, Gnosis, Metis, Linea, Fantom, Harmony, Aptos) |
| DeFi Lending Market Share | 61.5% of active loans; 52.4% of lending TVL |
| Governance Token | AAVE (max supply: 16 million) |
| Native Stablecoin | GHO (supply approaching $500 million) |
| Flash Loans | Yes, uncollateralized single-transaction loans |
| Security | Multiple audits; $1 million Immunefi bug bounty |
| Mobile App | Aave App (up to 9% APY savings; EU MiCAR licensed) |
How Aave Lending and Borrowing Works
Aave is a liquidity protocol built on smart contracts. It operates through pooled liquidity rather than peer-to-peer matching, meaning suppliers deposit assets into shared pools and borrowers draw from those pools. This design ensures instant liquidity for both sides without requiring a direct counterparty.
Supplying Assets to Earn Interest
When you supply a supported cryptocurrency to Aave, the protocol mints aTokens in your wallet. For example, depositing USDC gives you aUSDC. These aTokens are interest-bearing ERC-20 tokens whose balance increases automatically as borrowers pay interest. The interest rate is variable and adjusts based on utilization: when a high percentage of the pool is borrowed, rates rise to attract more suppliers and discourage excessive borrowing. When utilization is low, rates fall.
You can withdraw your supplied assets at any time, as long as there is available unborrowed liquidity in the pool. Withdrawing burns your aTokens and returns the underlying asset plus all accrued interest.
Borrowing Against Collateral
Borrowing on Aave requires overcollateralization. You must first supply collateral worth more than what you want to borrow. Each asset has a specific Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio that determines your maximum borrowing power. For example, if ETH has a 75% LTV, supplying $10,000 in ETH allows you to borrow up to $7,500 in other assets.
Your position is tracked by a Health Factor. When collateral values drop or debt accrues interest, the Health Factor decreases. If it falls below 1.0, your position becomes eligible for liquidation, where external liquidators repay part of your debt and receive your collateral at a discount.
Interest Rate Model
Aave V3 uses a two-slope interest rate model with an optimal utilization point. Below the optimal point, borrow rates increase gradually along the first slope. Above it, rates rise sharply along the second slope to strongly incentivize repayment and additional supply. This mechanism keeps pools liquid and prevents them from being fully drained.
| Asset | Total Supplied | Total Borrowed | Supply APR | Borrow APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WETH | $10.73 billion | $9.68 billion | 2.03% | 2.65% |
| USDT | $7.13 billion | $5.85 billion | 4.28% | 5.80% |
| USDC | $6.13 billion | $4.87 billion | 4.01% | 5.61% |
| wstETH | $6.36 billion | $1.50 billion | 0.05% | 0.30% |
| WBTC | $4.93 billion | $395 million | 0.02% | 0.35% |
| weETH | $8.48 billion | $5.79 million | ~0% | 1.02% |
| cbBTC | $1.63 billion | $63 million | ~0% | 0.15% |
| USDe | $1.51 billion | $1.18 billion | 3.50% | 5.20% |
Note: Rates are dynamic and change continuously based on supply and demand. Always check current rates on the Aave app before making decisions. You can also compare live Aave rates with other platforms on Bitcompare's Aave rates page.
Aave V3 Key Features
Aave V3 is the current production version of the protocol, deployed across all supported networks. It introduced three major innovations over V2: Efficiency Mode, Isolation Mode, and Portals. These features significantly improve capital efficiency, risk management, and cross-chain capabilities.
Efficiency Mode (E-Mode)
Efficiency Mode maximizes capital efficiency when a user supplies and borrows assets within the same category. For example, if you supply USDC and borrow USDT, both are USD-pegged stablecoins, so E-Mode allows a much higher LTV ratio (up to 97% for some stablecoin pairs) compared to the standard cross-asset LTV. This enables strategies like high-leverage stablecoin yield farming, efficient staked ETH looping (supply wstETH, borrow ETH), and low-slippage forex-style trading between correlated assets.
Isolation Mode
Isolation Mode allows Aave governance to list newer or more volatile assets without exposing the entire protocol to systemic risk. When an asset is listed in Isolation Mode, it can only be used as collateral to borrow a specific set of approved assets (typically stablecoins), and only up to a predefined debt ceiling. This lets Aave onboard a wider range of tokens while containing potential losses to a known maximum.
Portals
Portals enable cross-chain liquidity flow within Aave V3. Approved bridge protocols can burn aTokens on a source chain and mint them on a destination chain, allowing users to seamlessly move supplied positions across networks. This feature supports Aave's multi-chain strategy and reduces the fragmentation that comes with deploying on 14+ separate networks.
| Feature | Aave V2 | Aave V3 |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency Mode | Not available | Up to 97% LTV for correlated assets |
| Isolation Mode | Not available | Debt ceilings for new assets |
| Cross-Chain Portals | Not available | aToken bridging across networks |
| Gas Optimization | Standard | 20-25% lower gas costs |
| Risk Management | Protocol-wide parameters | Per-asset, per-market granularity |
| Multi-Chain Deployment | Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche | 14+ networks including L2s |
| Supply/Borrow Caps | Not available | Governance-set caps per asset |
| Multiple Reward Tokens | Single reward token | Multiple reward tokens per asset |
Supported Networks and Multi-Chain Strategy
Aave V3 is deployed on more blockchain networks than any other major DeFi lending protocol. As of early 2026, Aave operates on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Scroll, ZKsync Era, Gnosis, Metis, Linea, Fantom, and Harmony. A complete protocol rewrite in Move for the Aptos network was also completed in 2025, marking Aave's first expansion beyond EVM-compatible chains.
Aave became the first DeFi protocol to reach $1 billion in TVL on six different networks: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Plasma, and Linea. This multi-chain dominance means users can choose the network that best fits their needs in terms of gas costs, speed, and available assets. Ethereum remains the largest market by far, but Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Base have seen rapid growth due to lower transaction fees.
Flash Loans
Flash loans are one of Aave's most innovative features. A flash loan is an uncollateralized loan that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction. If the borrower does not repay the full amount plus a small fee (typically 0.05% on Aave V3) before the transaction completes, the entire transaction is automatically reversed as if it never happened.
Flash loans are primarily used by developers and advanced DeFi users for arbitrage opportunities between decentralized exchanges, collateral swaps (replacing one collateral type with another without closing a position), self-liquidation (repaying debt to avoid costly third-party liquidation), and leveraged position management. To learn more about this mechanism, see our guide on crypto flash loans.
While flash loans require technical knowledge to execute (you need to write or interact with smart contracts), they represent a financial primitive that has no equivalent in traditional finance, where instant, uncollateralized lending is impossible.
GHO Stablecoin
GHO is Aave's native, overcollateralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Borrowers mint GHO by depositing collateral into Aave V3 on Ethereum, similar to how MakerDAO allows users to mint DAI. The key difference is that GHO interest payments flow directly to the Aave DAO treasury rather than to individual liquidity providers, making GHO a significant revenue source for the protocol.
By the end of 2025, GHO supply had grown to nearly $500 million, generating over $14 million in annualized revenue for the Aave DAO. GHO has been deployed cross-chain using Chainlink CCIP, with availability on Base and other networks beyond Ethereum mainnet.
Savings GHO (sGHO)
Savings GHO launched in July 2025, allowing holders to stake GHO and earn native savings yield funded directly by protocol revenue, with no fees, lockups, or slashing risk. By year-end 2025, over 54% of circulating GHO was staked as sGHO (more than 265 million GHO), demonstrating strong product-market fit.
Anti-GHO Mechanism
In March 2025, Aave introduced "Anti-GHO," a non-transferable ERC-20 token minted by AAVE and StkBPT stakers. The mechanism works as follows: 50% of GHO borrow fees generate Anti-GHO tokens, which are distributed 80% to StkAAVE holders and 20% to StkBPT holders. Users can burn Anti-GHO to offset GHO debt on a 1:1 basis or convert it to StkGHO. This replaced the previous discount model and creates a tighter alignment between AAVE stakers and GHO borrowers.
AAVE Tokenomics and Safety Module
The AAVE token has a fixed maximum supply of 16 million tokens, with approximately 15 million currently in circulation. AAVE serves three primary functions: governance voting, staking in the Safety Module, and protocol fee capture.
Safety Module
The Aave Safety Module is a staking mechanism where AAVE holders stake their tokens to backstop the protocol against potential shortfall events (such as a smart contract exploit or oracle failure). In exchange for accepting this slashing risk, stakers earn incentive rewards. The Safety Module underwent a significant upgrade with the Umbrella Safety Module Enhancement as part of the Aavenomics update, improving protocol security and financial stability.
Token Buybacks
A governance-approved buyback framework was introduced in 2025, enabling the Aave DAO to repurchase AAVE tokens from the open market using treasury revenue. Combined with the fixed supply cap, this creates deflationary pressure on the token over time.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Max Supply | 16,000,000 AAVE |
| Circulating Supply | ~15,000,000 AAVE |
| Previous Token Name | LEND (migrated 100:1 to AAVE) |
| Governance | On-chain voting for all protocol parameters |
| Staking (Safety Module) | Earn rewards for backstopping protocol risk |
| Buyback Program | DAO-approved treasury buybacks (active 2025+) |
| Anti-GHO Distribution | 80% to StkAAVE holders, 20% to StkBPT holders |
| Revenue Sources | Borrow fees, flash loan fees, GHO interest, liquidation penalties |
Aave Governance
Aave governance is fully on-chain and community-driven. Any AAVE holder can submit proposals, participate in discussions, and vote on protocol changes. The governance process follows a structured path: temperature check, Aave Request for Comment (ARFC), Snapshot vote, and finally on-chain execution via smart contracts.
Governance decisions include setting risk parameters for individual assets, approving new asset listings, adjusting interest rate models, deploying to new networks, managing the DAO treasury, and approving protocol upgrades. The Aave Financial Committee (AFC) was established to manage specific treasury operations under explicit DAO mandates, streamlining day-to-day financial decisions while maintaining community oversight.
Aave V4: The Next Generation
Aave V4 launched on testnet in 2025 and represents the most significant protocol evolution to date. Mainnet deployment is expected in 2026. V4 introduces a fundamentally new architecture designed to support the next several trillion dollars in on-chain assets.
Hub and Spoke Architecture
V4 replaces the current model of independent deployments per chain with a Hub and Spoke architecture. This design unifies liquidity management across networks, reducing the fragmentation that characterized V3's multi-chain approach. Cross-chain liquidity hubs allow assets to flow seamlessly between networks while maintaining centralized risk controls.
Risk Premiums
V4 introduces risk premiums that provide more accurate risk-adjusted interest rates. Rather than applying uniform parameters, the protocol can price risk more granularly based on asset characteristics, market conditions, and collateral quality.
Redesigned Liquidation Engine
The V4 liquidation engine improves on V3's system with more efficient and fairer liquidation mechanics, reducing the cost to borrowers while maintaining protocol safety.
Expanded Use Cases
V4 is designed to go beyond purely crypto-native collateral. The architecture enables permissioned RWA (real-world asset) lending, borrowing through qualified custodians, integrations with brokerage and margin accounts, and additional use cases that were previously out of reach for DeFi protocols.
| Aspect | Aave V3 | Aave V4 (Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Independent deployments per chain | Hub and Spoke unified model |
| Cross-Chain Liquidity | Portals (bridge-dependent) | Native liquidity hubs |
| Interest Rate Pricing | Utilization-based curves | Risk premiums with granular pricing |
| Liquidation Engine | Standard collateral discount model | Redesigned for efficiency and fairness |
| Asset Support | Crypto-native assets | Crypto + RWAs + institutional assets |
| Institutional Integration | Limited (Aave Arc) | Native custodian and brokerage support |
| Non-EVM Support | EVM chains only | EVM + Move (Aptos) and beyond |
| Launch Status | Live on 14+ networks | Testnet (2025); mainnet expected 2026 |
Horizon: Real-World Asset Market
Aave launched Horizon in August 2025, a purpose-built market for real-world assets (RWAs). Horizon works directly with asset issuers so that RWAs are natively supported with proper permissions and compliance. The supply side remains fully permissionless, meaning anyone can provide stablecoins to earn yield from institutional borrowers.
Horizon launched with institutional partners including VanEck, Circle, Securitize, Ripple, WisdomTree, Superstate, Centrifuge, Ant Digital Technologies, Hamilton Lane, Ethena, KAIO, and OpenEden. By year-end 2025, Horizon held over $570 million in deposits and became the largest RWA-backed lending market in DeFi.
Aave App: Consumer-Focused Savings
The Aave App is a mobile application offering a high-yield savings alternative powered by the Aave protocol. It offers up to 9% APY on stablecoin deposits, with interest compounding in real time and withdrawals available at any time. The app supports deposits from more than 12,000 banks, debit cards, and stablecoins, and includes up to $1 million in balance protection.
A subsidiary of Aave Labs, Push Virtual Assets Ireland Limited, secured Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization under the EU's MiCAR framework from the Central Bank of Ireland. This enables zero-fee stablecoin on- and off-ramps into the Aave App, positioning it as one of the few DeFi products with full regulatory compliance in the EU.
Security and Audits
Security is a critical consideration for any DeFi protocol handling billions of dollars. Aave has one of the strongest security track records in decentralized finance.
Aave V3 smart contracts have been audited by multiple leading security firms. The protocol maintains a $1,000,000 bug bounty program on Immunefi, one of the largest in DeFi, incentivizing white-hat hackers to identify and report vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
In 2025, Aave handled over $1.1 billion in liquidations across more than 100,000 events without a single protocol-level issue, despite significant market volatility. This track record of transparent, reliable performance under stress is a key differentiator.
The protocol's open-source codebase is publicly available on GitHub, allowing anyone to review and verify the smart contract logic. All protocol upgrades go through governance votes and timelocked execution, preventing unilateral changes.
The Aave Ecosystem: Aave Labs, Avara, and Lens Protocol
Aave Labs (operating as Avara) is the primary development company behind the Aave protocol. Beyond the core lending protocol, Avara has developed several ecosystem projects:
Lens Protocol is a decentralized social media framework built by Avara, allowing developers to create social applications where users own their data and social graph. While distinct from the lending protocol, Lens represents Avara's broader vision for decentralized infrastructure.
Aave Earn Vaults are ERC-4626 compliant yield-bearing vaults that simplify the Aave supply experience. Vault managers can deploy and manage customized yield strategies while earning fees, and users receive vault shares representing their proportional claim on underlying assets and yield.
Embedded DeFi became a defining theme in 2025, with major wallets and fintech apps integrating Aave's infrastructure. MetaMask, Bitget Wallet (80 million users), Ledger, and Tangem all added native Aave integrations. Latin American fintech apps including Lemon, Ripio, Belo, and Buenbit use Aave to offer stablecoin savings across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Aave Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Largest DeFi lending protocol by TVL and market share | Overcollateralization required (cannot borrow more than collateral value) |
| 14+ supported networks with low-cost L2 options | Variable interest rates can fluctuate significantly |
| Innovative features like flash loans and E-Mode | Smart contract risk inherent to all DeFi protocols |
| Strong security track record with $1M bug bounty | Complex for beginners unfamiliar with DeFi concepts |
| GHO stablecoin provides native yield via sGHO | Liquidation risk if collateral value drops sharply |
| Fully decentralized governance with active community | No customer support like centralized platforms offer |
| EU MiCAR-licensed mobile app for mainstream access | Gas fees on Ethereum mainnet can be expensive during congestion |
| Institutional adoption via Horizon RWA market | Regulatory landscape remains uncertain in some jurisdictions |
How Aave Compares to Alternatives
Aave is the dominant player in DeFi lending, but several alternatives exist. Here is how Aave stacks up against the most common alternatives for users looking to compare crypto lending platforms.
| Feature | Aave | Compound | MakerDAO (Sky) | Nexo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Decentralized | Decentralized | Decentralized (CDP) | Centralized |
| TVL | $55 billion+ | ~$3 billion | ~$8 billion | N/A (custodial) |
| Supported Chains | 14+ | 4 | Ethereum only | N/A (centralized) |
| Flash Loans | Yes | No | No | No |
| Native Stablecoin | GHO | No | DAI (now USDS) | No |
| E-Mode | Yes (up to 97% LTV) | No | No | N/A |
| Governance | On-chain (AAVE token) | On-chain (COMP token) | On-chain (MKR token) | Centralized |
| KYC Required | No | No | No | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes (MiCAR licensed) | No | No | Yes |
| Best For | Advanced DeFi users, yield farmers, institutions | Simple DeFi lending | Stablecoin minting | Users wanting centralized CeFi convenience |
Compound is Aave's closest decentralized competitor but has fallen significantly behind in TVL, features, and multi-chain support. Nexo offers a centralized alternative with simpler UX and customer support, but requires KYC and does not offer the same transparency or composability as a DeFi protocol.
Who Should Use Aave
Aave is best suited for crypto holders who want to earn yield on idle assets without selling, traders who need to borrow against their holdings for leveraged positions or liquidity, developers building DeFi applications that require lending infrastructure, institutional investors accessing RWA markets through Horizon, and users comfortable with self-custody and DeFi interfaces.
Aave is less suitable for complete beginners who have never used a crypto wallet, users who prefer customer support and insurance guarantees of centralized platforms, or anyone uncomfortable with the risks of smart contract interactions and self-custody.
2025 Milestones and Recent Developments
2025 was Aave's most successful year. Key milestones include:
- Peak deposits reached $75 billion, the highest ever for any DeFi protocol
- DeFi market share climbed from 17% to 29% of total TVL
- 61.5% of all active DeFi loans originated on Aave
- Surpassed $3 trillion in cumulative assets supplied
- First protocol to reach $1 billion TVL on six different networks
- Aave V4 launched on testnet
- GHO supply grew to nearly $500 million with sGHO staking
- Horizon RWA market launched with $570 million in deposits
- Aave App announced with EU MiCAR licensing
- Protocol rewritten in Move for Aptos (first non-EVM deployment)
- Handled $1.1 billion in liquidations without issues
- Embedded DeFi integrations with MetaMask, Bitget Wallet, Ledger, and Latin American fintechs
- U.S. Senate voted to repeal the DeFi broker rule (70-27)
Frequently Asked Questions About Aave
What is Aave and how does it work?
Aave is a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol built on blockchain smart contracts. Users supply cryptocurrency to liquidity pools to earn interest, and borrowers take overcollateralized loans from those pools. All interactions happen directly with smart contracts, with no intermediary, bank, or credit check required. Aave operates on 14+ blockchain networks and holds over $55 billion in total value locked as of early 2026.
Is Aave safe to use?
Aave is one of the most battle-tested DeFi protocols, having operated since 2020 (originally ETHLend since 2017) without a major protocol-level exploit. Smart contracts are audited by multiple security firms, and a $1,000,000 Immunefi bug bounty incentivizes vulnerability discovery. In 2025, Aave processed over $1.1 billion in liquidations across 100,000+ events without incident. However, all DeFi protocols carry inherent smart contract risk, and users should never deposit more than they can afford to lose.
What is the minimum amount needed to use Aave?
There is no minimum deposit or borrow amount on Aave. However, you need enough to cover blockchain gas fees for transactions. On Ethereum mainnet, gas fees can range from a few dollars to over $50 during congestion. Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism typically cost under $1 per transaction, making them more practical for smaller amounts.
What are Aave flash loans?
Flash loans are uncollateralized loans that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction. If the borrower does not repay the full amount plus a 0.05% fee before the transaction completes, the entire transaction is reversed. Flash loans are used for arbitrage, collateral swaps, self-liquidation, and leveraged position management. They require smart contract interaction and are primarily used by developers and advanced DeFi users.
What is the GHO stablecoin?
GHO is Aave's native overcollateralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Users mint GHO by depositing collateral into Aave V3. Unlike regular Aave borrowing where interest goes to liquidity providers, GHO interest payments go directly to the Aave DAO treasury. GHO supply reached nearly $500 million by end of 2025. Savings GHO (sGHO) allows holders to earn approximately 8.4% APY by staking GHO in the protocol.
Does Aave require KYC or identity verification?
No. The core Aave protocol is permissionless and does not require any identity verification, KYC, or account creation. Anyone with a self-custodial crypto wallet (like MetaMask or Ledger) can supply and borrow assets. The Aave App, however, may require identity verification in certain jurisdictions to comply with EU MiCAR regulations and enable fiat on-ramps.
What networks does Aave support?
Aave V3 is deployed on 14+ networks: Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Scroll, ZKsync Era, Gnosis, Metis, Linea, Fantom, and Harmony. In 2025, a Move-language version was deployed on Aptos, marking Aave's first non-EVM chain. Users should choose networks based on gas costs, available assets, and liquidity depth.
How does Aave compare to Compound?
Aave and Compound are both decentralized lending protocols, but Aave is significantly larger (over $55 billion TVL vs. approximately $3 billion for Compound). Aave offers more features including flash loans, Efficiency Mode, Isolation Mode, the GHO stablecoin, and support for 14+ chains versus Compound's 4. Compound's advantage is simplicity, with a more streamlined interface and fewer parameters.
What is Aave V4 and when will it launch?
Aave V4 is the next major protocol upgrade, currently on testnet with mainnet expected in 2026. It introduces a Hub and Spoke architecture for unified cross-chain liquidity, risk premiums for better interest rate pricing, a redesigned liquidation engine, and native support for real-world assets and institutional integrations. V4 aims to support "the next several trillion dollars in onchain assets."
Can I earn yield on Aave without borrowing?
Yes. You can simply supply assets to Aave and earn interest from borrowers without ever taking a loan yourself. Your supplied assets earn variable interest rates that adjust based on borrowing demand. For stablecoins like USDC and USDT, supply APRs typically range from 3-6%, while volatile assets like ETH and BTC earn lower rates (0-3%) since they are more often used as collateral than borrowed. You can also hold sGHO (Savings GHO) for approximately 8.4% APY.
What happens if my Aave loan gets liquidated?
If your collateral value drops and your Health Factor falls below 1.0, any external user can act as a liquidator. The liquidator repays up to 50% of your debt and receives the equivalent value in your collateral plus a liquidation bonus (typically 5-10% depending on the asset). You keep the borrowed assets but lose the liquidated collateral. To avoid liquidation, maintain a healthy collateral ratio and monitor your Health Factor, especially during market volatility.
What is the AAVE token used for?
The AAVE token serves three primary functions: governance (voting on protocol parameters, upgrades, and treasury management), staking in the Safety Module (earning rewards for backstopping protocol risk), and fee capture (Anti-GHO distribution to stakers and DAO buybacks from protocol revenue). AAVE has a fixed maximum supply of 16 million tokens.
Final Verdict
Aave is the clear market leader in decentralized lending and borrowing. With over $55 billion in TVL, deployment across 14+ networks, innovative features like flash loans and E-Mode, a growing GHO stablecoin ecosystem, and institutional-grade products like Horizon, no other DeFi lending protocol matches its scale, feature set, or track record.
The protocol is not without risks. Smart contract vulnerabilities, liquidation risk, variable rates, and regulatory uncertainty are real considerations. But Aave's security track record, active governance, multiple audits, and $1 million bug bounty program make it the most battle-tested option available.
For crypto holders looking to put their assets to work, Aave offers the deepest liquidity, the widest network support, and the most advanced feature set of any decentralized lending protocol. The upcoming V4 upgrade and expanding mobile app suggest Aave is only getting started.
Compare live Aave lending and staking rates with other platforms on Bitcompare, or explore our full list of crypto lending platforms to find the best option for your needs.
