Aave

Aave has published its comprehensive 2025 annual recap, documenting the protocol's developments and milestones throughout the year. The open-source, non-custodial liquidity protocol shared key achievements and metrics from its operations over the past twelve months. **Key highlights include:** - Protocol performance metrics and growth data - Technical developments and upgrades - Community governance activities - Integration updates across supported networks The full report provides detailed insights into how the protocol evolved and served its users throughout 2025. [Read the complete 2025 recap](https://aave.com/blog/aave-2025-recap)

Aave is positioning itself to bring the next trillion dollars and millions of users onchain through three key initiatives: - **Aave V4**: After two years of development, V4 launched on testnet with a new architecture that expands beyond onchain collateral, enabling new DeFi lending use cases. Mainnet launch planned for 2026. - **Unified Liquidity**: V4 will unify Aave's liquidity across the protocol, benefiting both users and builders while positioning Aave at the center of next-generation financial applications. - **Network Effect**: When Plasma launched in September, it attracted $1.3 billion in the first hour and $6.6 billion within 48 hours, demonstrating Aave's ability to drive adoption for both assets and networks. Aave is approaching $1 trillion in total loans originated since launch, marking a significant milestone as it prepares for its next phase of growth.

Aave Labs announced **Aave App**, a mobile savings application designed to make DeFi accessible to mainstream users. **Key Features:** - User-friendly savings tool with industry-leading rates - Zero-fee onramping - Up to $1M in balance protection - Powered by Aave Protocol (currently managing over $50B in deposits with 2.5M+ users) The app is designed to pass the "Fintech Test" - users shouldn't be able to tell it's blockchain-powered, which Aave Labs considers critical for mass adoption. This launch follows 2025's trend of embedded DeFi, where Aave partnered with various consumer apps and wallet infrastructure providers, particularly in Latin America. The [waitlist is now open](https://aave.com/app) for early access.

**Horizon**, Aave's real-world asset (RWA) market, has emerged as the **largest and fastest-growing venue** for RWA-backed loans in decentralized finance. The platform achieved this milestone in **less than six months** since launch, demonstrating significant demand for bridging traditional assets with DeFi lending. - Grove Finance is expanding Horizon's capacity by supplying RLUSD and USDC - This additional liquidity will provide more depth for RWA-backed borrowing - The growth signals increasing institutional and retail interest in tokenized real-world assets The rapid adoption of Horizon reflects a broader trend of traditional finance infrastructure integrating with decentralized protocols.

Aave's stablecoin GHO experienced significant growth in 2025, with its total supply increasing threefold over the year. This expansion represents a major milestone for one of Aave's core business lines, demonstrating growing adoption of the protocol's native stablecoin across the DeFi ecosystem. The growth comes as Aave continues to expand its product offerings, including the recent introduction of Aave v4 and GHO's deployment across multiple blockchain networks.

Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin experienced significant growth following its integration with Aave's Ethereum Core market and Horizon. **Key metrics:** - Circulating supply increased from $250 million to $1.3 billion - Growth occurred after onboarding to Aave's lending platform This pattern mirrors broader trends in DeFi lending. Over the past year, both USDC and USDT on Aave grew from approximately $1.5 billion to over $6 billion each, driven by returning leverage appetite in the market. The data suggests that stablecoins integrated with major lending protocols like Aave tend to see substantial adoption increases.

Maple Finance's syrupUSDT made a strong debut on Aave in Q4 2025, quickly establishing itself across multiple networks. **Key Highlights:** - Over 70% of syrupUSDT supply was actively earning yield by year-end - The token is deployed on both Plasma and Ethereum Core markets - Initial launch on Aave Plasma saw the $150 million supply cap filled within minutes - Supply cap designed to scale with demand according to governance proposal The rapid adoption demonstrates strong market demand for yield-bearing stablecoin products. The governance framework allows for flexible capacity expansion as usage grows. More details available in the [governance proposal](https://governance.aave.com/t/direct-to-aip-onboard-syrupusdt-to-aave-v3-plasma-instance/23204/1).

A new audit contest is available on Sherlock's platform. Security researchers and auditors can participate in **Contest 1209** to identify vulnerabilities and earn rewards. - Contest accessible at [Sherlock platform](https://audits.sherlock.xyz/contests/1209) - Open for community participation - Part of ongoing security review process This follows previous contest activity, indicating continued focus on protocol security through community-driven auditing.

**Aave V4** has entered its **open security review phase** on Sherlock DeFi, marking a key milestone in the protocol's development. The review invites participation from: - Previous Aave auditors - Developers familiar with lending-pool mechanics - Security researchers interested in DeFi protocols This follows Aave Labs' September roadmap announcement, which outlined the final stages before V4's launch including public documentation, testnet deployment, and codebase release. The open review represents a **community-driven approach** to protocol security, allowing experienced auditors to contribute to one of DeFi's most significant upgrades.

**MetaMask's mUSD stablecoin** has been listed on Ethereum Core and Linea Build markets, expanding lending options for users. - Users can now **supply and borrow mUSD** on both platforms - This marks continued expansion for mUSD, the first stablecoin from a self-custodial wallet - Previously announced integration with Linea ecosystem for seamless on-ramps and swaps The listing provides new **DeFi lending opportunities** with MetaMask's native stablecoin across multiple networks.