Aave
Aave is a decentralized lending protocol: a set of smart contracts, mostly on Ethereum and other EVM chains, where you supply crypto to earn interest or borrow against it. Loans are overcollateralized, meaning borrowers post more value than they take out. It began in 2017 as ETHLend, rebranded to Aave in 2018, and launched its pool-based V1 in January 2020; it is developed by Aave Labs (parent company Avara), founded by Stani Kulechov, while the protocol is governed on-chain by holders of the AAVE token. Note the homonym: "AAVE" also stands for African American Vernacular English, a language variety unrelated to this profile, which covers only the DeFi lending protocol.
- Launched
- 2017 as ETHLend; rebranded Aave in 2018; pool-based V1 live January 20202020-01 · source
- Developer
- Aave Labs (parent company Avara), founded by Stani Kulechov
- Model
- Non-custodial, overcollateralized lending pools; you supply and borrow from your own wallet
- Native assets
- AAVE governance token, and GHO, an overcollateralized stablecoin live since July 20232023-07 · source
What is Aave?
Aave is a decentralized money market. On one side, people supply assets into shared liquidity pools and earn interest; on the other, people borrow from those pools by locking up collateral. Every loan is overcollateralized — you must post more value than you borrow — which is how the protocol protects lenders when prices move: if collateral falls too far, the position is liquidated automatically. It is non-custodial, so you interact directly from your own wallet and no company holds your funds.
Beyond lending, Aave issues GHO, an overcollateralized stablecoin minted against collateral you deposit, live since July 2023. The protocol is run by a DAO: holders of the AAVE token vote on listings, risk parameters and upgrades, in the same style of on-chain governance used by protocols like Uniswap. One disambiguation worth stating plainly: "AAVE" is also the common abbreviation for African American Vernacular English, an unrelated language variety; this page is only about the DeFi lending protocol.
Is Aave safe?
Aave's contracts are among the most audited and most battle-tested in DeFi, and its core has not been exploited to drain user deposits — a strong record for code that has held very large sums since 2020. The protocol leans heavily on risk engineering: isolation mode limits how a newly listed, riskier asset can be used as collateral, supply and borrow caps bound exposure, and a Safety Module of staked funds exists as a backstop for shortfalls.
The clearest stress test came in 2023, when a large CRV-collateralized position held by Curve founder Michael Egorov left Aave exposed to bad debt as CRV liquidity thinned. The DAO debated and adjusted risk parameters, the borrower ultimately repaid, and Aave managed the episode without a loss of user deposits, though it did briefly carry a small amount of bad debt. The lasting risks are the ordinary ones of any lending protocol: sharp liquidations in volatile markets, oracle or parameter risk on thinly traded collateral, and user-side dangers like phishing sites and malicious approval prompts. Confirm the official domain and read what you sign.
Incident record
No security incident on record as of 2026-09-28 — we checked and found none, which is not the same as never having one.
In our ratings
Where we score Aave against its peers on open data. The number lives there, not here.
Compare with
Frequently asked
Is Aave safe?+
Aave's core contracts are heavily audited and have not been exploited to drain user deposits since the protocol launched in 2020. It uses overcollateralization, isolation mode, supply caps and a Safety Module backstop to manage risk. The remaining dangers are inherent to lending — liquidations in volatile markets, and oracle or parameter risk on thin collateral — plus user-side phishing. Check the official domain and read every approval.
What is Aave?+
Aave is a decentralized, non-custodial lending protocol where you supply crypto to earn interest or borrow against overcollateralized positions from your own wallet. It began as ETHLend in 2017, rebranded to Aave in 2018, launched its pool-based V1 in January 2020, and is governed on-chain by AAVE token holders.
Is Aave the crypto the same as AAVE the dialect?+
No. Aave (the crypto) is a DeFi lending protocol and its AAVE governance token. "AAVE" spelled the same way is also the abbreviation for African American Vernacular English, a language variety with no connection to crypto. This profile covers only the lending protocol.
What is GHO?+
GHO is Aave's decentralized, overcollateralized stablecoin, live since July 2023. Users mint it against collateral deposited in Aave, and the Aave DAO governs its supply, interest rate and risk parameters.
What changed
- 2026-09-28Profile created: the ETHLend-to-Aave history, the supply/borrow and overcollateralization model, GHO and DAO governance, the AAVE-dialect disambiguation, and a safety picture including the 2023 CRV episode with no protocol-level exploit on record.