Aave
Credit · Lending · AAVE
Aave is a multichain non-custodial lending protocol for supplying, borrowing, and earning interest. The Aave DAO governs parameters, listings, and emissions; Aave Labs is the primary development company.
Savings for Everyone — open-source non-custodial liquidity protocol.
AAVE price
$88.55
+1.9% 24h
Latest data · 15 min delay
Research
Components, facts, FAQ, timeline, and tokenomics in one place
Main components (5)
Lending markets
Core/Prime/Plus/Horizon markets: supply assets to pools, borrow against collateral, earn real-time interest. Not a token — the protocol product.
aTokens
Interest-bearing deposit receipts (e.g. aUSDC) minted on supply — accrue yield, redeemable for underlying + interest.
GHO
Native Aave stablecoin minted by locking approved collateral via Aave.
sGHO / StkGHO
GHO savings product — yield-bearing, not the stablecoin itself. New sGHO experience live May 2026.
AAVE / stkAAVE
AAVE governs the DAO; stkAAVE is the legacy Safety Module position being superseded by Umbrella.
Differentiator
Scale and breadth: large multichain lending network plus native overcollateralized stablecoin (GHO), staking/backstop mechanics (stkAAVE → Umbrella), and institutional/RWA lending (Horizon) under DAO governance.
Organizational structure
Units & roles
- Development company
Aave Labs
Primary DAO service provider under the Aave Will Win framework.
- Governance
Aave DAO
Tokenholder governance over parameters, listings, emissions, and buybacks.
- Insolvency backstop
Umbrella
New backstop replacing the legacy Safety Module ($246.6M cited May 2026).
Similarity to traditional finance products
How Aave maps onto established TradFi structures, and where it diverges.
| TradFi product | Similarity to Aave | Key differences |
|---|---|---|
| Money-market fund + secured lending desk | Supply/borrow markets resemble secured lending with interest-bearing deposit receipts (aTokens). | Overcollateralized onchain pools vs bank balance-sheet lending; governance via AAVE tokenholders. |
| Overcollateralized dollar liability | GHO maps to a decentralized overcollateralized dollar. | Minted via Aave collateral vs fiat or Treasury reserves. |