Aave Protocol

The largest onchain lending pools: anyone can supply USDC and borrow against listed collateral, under rules set by a DAO.

Run by

Aave DAO, software by Aave Labs

Route

Open protocol

Size

≈ $16.4B TVL, $12.1B lent (DefiLlama, Nov 3 and Oct 27, 2026)

Launched

Jan 2020

License

None for the protocol. A DAO governs it and Aave Labs builds software. Aave said on Dec 16, 2025 that the SEC ended its probe with no action.

Backing

Loans to borrowers who post listed collateral such as ETH, staked ETH and BTC. Umbrella stakers cover some bad debt on Ethereum Core. After the Oct 29, 2026 Binance hack, stablecoins were set to 0% LTV.

Reports

V4 had about 345 days of security review from four audit firms plus Certora (Mar 2026). LlamaRisk leads risk work since Chaos Labs left in Apr 2026.

Networks

Mostly Ethereum, then Base, Arbitrum, Plasma, Monad, Avalanche and more. V4 runs on Ethereum since Mar 30, 2026, and on Arc, Avalanche and Base.

Access

Open to any unsanctioned wallet. Horizon admits only issuer approved wallets as RWA borrowers; the Base equities hub is non US only.

Yield

USDC on Ethereum V3 paid lenders 3.53% a year on average over the 12 months to Nov 7, 2026. It moves with demand: 4.79% on Nov 5, and 12.7% during the Oct 30 freeze. Paid from borrowers’ interest, minus Aave’s 10% cut.

Rules

An open protocol with no license. Apps that bring US users to it carry the KYC and lending law duties.

More ways to earn and borrow

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Public information as of September 2026, simplified. Not legal or investment advice. Open the full earn and borrow world.