Lending protocol Aave has hit a major milestone

Lending protocol Aave has hit a major milestone, now accounting for 20% of the total value locked (TVL) across the entire decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

Lending protocol Aave has hit a major milestone, now accounting for 20% of the total value locked (TVL) across the entire decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

According to DeFiLlama, Aave’s TVL has surged past $40.5 billion, making it the largest DeFi protocol by TVL. This figure marks a 40% increase over the past 30 days.

AAVE, the protocol’s native token, has also rallied alongside the rise in TVL. It is currently trading at $262, up 90% over the past month, with a market capitalization nearing $4 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The DeFi sector has been boosted by a sharp rebound in the price of ETH, which is up nearly 60% in the past month.

Crypto analytics platform SeaLaunch noted that the protocol’s TVL dominance has nearly doubled since January 2024 – rising from 11% to 20% over the past 16 months. During that same period, DeFi’s total TVL doubled from $56 billion to $115 billion, while Aave’s TVL grew faster from $6.6 billion to $23.8 billion (a 3.6x increase).

This outperformance underscores the increasing demand for decentralized lending amid a broader DeFi recovery after a slow start earlier this year. Aave is also expanding its footprint outside the Ethereum ecosystem, sharing on Monday that its V3 iteration was successfully deployed on the Aptos blockchain.

In January, DeFi TVL suffered as billions of dollars in gains were erased following a post-election surge in December 2024. TVL across DeFi protocols peaked at $179 billion in December 2024; however, by April 2025, it had dropped nearly 40% to $109 billion, according to DeFiLlama.

Since then, the sector has rebounded, with TVL rising 38% over the past month to reach $151 billion as of May 20.