Aave Monthly Users Hit Record Amid DeFi Surge

Monthly users on decentralised lending protocol Aave reached a record of roughly 155,000 in February, nearly doubling the figure from six months ago. The surge reflects growing investor interest in decentralised lending amid a changing crypto market landscape.

Data from the on-chain analytics platform Token Terminal shows that the increase coincides with a broader move toward yield-generating opportunities in DeFi markets.

Sean Dawson, head of research at on-chain options platform Derive, said evolving market conditions appear to be driving the surge.

“The largest trade in crypto, the basis trade, has collapsed in recent months,” Dawson explained. “Users used to be able to earn 10–30% yield by holding sUSDe; now returns are under 4%. With fewer low-risk options available, lending has become one of the main ways to deploy funds safely.”

Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Labs, added that Aave’s role as a core piece of DeFi infrastructure supports its steady growth.

“DeFi firms are largely experimental, but a few have established themselves as critical on-chain infrastructure,” Chung said. “Aave is one of them. Recent governance changes may have had some impact, but the overall trend reflects broader market adoption.”

The growth comes amid governance tensions within the Aave ecosystem. Last week, the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) announced plans to wind down, citing influence from addresses tied to Stani Kulechov’s 111,000 AAVE delegation in a $51 million funding vote. The group argued that such influence limited the role of independent governance participants.

This follows reports that key contributor teams, including BGD Labs, are stepping back from active development roles, marking the departure of two major contributors in a short period. Despite these disputes, lending and borrowing activity continue uninterrupted.

Aave currently holds close to $27 billion in total value locked (TVL) across 20 blockchains, according to DeFiLlama, maintaining its position as the largest DeFi lending protocol. Its governance token, AAVE, currently trades near $107 at the time of writing, down about 0.7% over the past 24 hours and roughly 83.8% below its 2021 all-time high of $661, according to CoinGecko.

Looking ahead, Dawson said the protocol’s trajectory will depend largely on lending activity and stability in interest rates.

“Continued growth in TVL is the main metric to watch. Stable rates without large inflows or withdrawals would signal strong adoption and resilience.”