Aave founder Stani Kulechov has confirmed plans to resurrect ETHLend, the protocol's original peer-to-peer lending platform, in 2026. The revival will feature a key innovation: the use of real Bitcoin as collateral, eliminating the need for wrapped versions like WBTC. This announcement came after an old screenshot of ETHLend's 2018 interface resurfaced on X, showing support for native BTC, Ether, and LEND tokens.
Kulechov emphasized the significance, stating, "Most interesting part was that the Bitcoin collateral was real Bitcoin, no wrappers. In 2026, we will bring ETHLend back, I promise." ETHLend launched in 2017 but faced liquidity challenges during the 2018 bear market, leading the team to pivot to a pooled-liquidity model that evolved into Aave. The 2026 relaunch marks a full-circle moment, leveraging years of DeFi innovation while returning to Aave's roots.
The move toward native Bitcoin collateral addresses long-standing issues with wrapped assets, such as counterparty risk and custodial exposure. It aligns with broader industry trends in 2025, where direct Bitcoin integration is gaining traction in DeFi. ETHLend will operate as a complementary product to Aave, focusing on peer-to-peer lending without replacing the existing multichain protocol, which has billions in locked value.
