Aave Poised to Capture Tokenized Asset Growth in DeFi

Aave is poised to capture growth in tokenized assets within decentralized finance (DeFi), according to a recent research note from banking giant Standard Chartered.

The bank's global head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, believes the protocol can rebuild its position as a dominant onchain lending platform. Kendrick cites Aave's October 2025 deposit base of about $75 billion, which would have ranked alongside the 30th-largest US bank by deposits.

Aave's recent performance has been weighed down by a decline in digital asset prices and the April cybertheft involving KelpDAO, which affected Aave and led to a decline in its lending market share. However, Kendrick expects both these negatives to fade as digital asset token prices are forecasted to rise into year-end.

Aave is expected to recover part of its scale as tokenized assets become more widely used as collateral and sources of liquidity within DeFi. The bank also notes that Aave's total value locked has been affected by the April incident, but expects it to move beyond this event.