The decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Aave announced on February 19, 2026, that it has reached a significant milestone of $1 billion in total Real World Asset (RWA) deposits. This achievement comes through its Aave Horizon market, which launched tokenized RWAs. The platform had accumulated $600 million in deposits by January 2026 and doubled that amount in less than a month, with active and on-chain RWA values each standing at $527 million.
This growth for Aave is occurring against a backdrop of sustained outflows from the broader cryptocurrency market. Data shows the crypto market has recorded its fourth consecutive week of outflows, totaling $3.74 billion, including $173 million in the most recent week. Bitcoin (BTC) saw the highest disposal pressure with $133 million in outflows, followed by Ethereum (ETH) at $85 million. A global capital markets commentator noted that "crypto funds have now seen withdrawals in 11 out of the last 16 weeks," with U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs experiencing $8.5 billion in outflows since October 2025.
Analysts interpret this divergence as a sign of capital rotation within the crypto ecosystem rather than a full exit. While DeFi's total value locked (TVL) has plunged 25% over the past month to $94.84 billion, the tokenized RWA sector has shown robust growth. According to RWA.xyz, the distributed asset value for RWAs grew 8.68% in the past month to $24.84 billion. Specific sectors like tokenized U.S. Treasury debt (up 10%), commodities (up 20%), and private credit (up 15%) are driving this expansion.
Experts attribute this shift to investors seeking lower-risk, yield-bearing assets with regulatory clarity. "DeFi yields were compressed, so lending and staking decreased alongside the market," said Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch. "At the same time, tokenized treasuries offer 4% on-chain returns with minimal risk. People are not leaving the space, they're entering in a slightly less risky way." Rico van der Veen, CEO of Programmable Credit Protocol, added that "RWA protocols offer what DeFi never could: enforceable rights, regulatory clarity, and cash flows that don't depend on token emissions."
Despite the strong fundamental growth for RWAs, the native tokens of related projects have struggled, a dynamic experts link to the broader market downturn. The AAVE token itself was trading at $123.69 at the time of the announcement, up a modest 0.7% in 24 hours. However, Aave's overall TVL of $26.7 billion remains the highest among all DeFi platforms. The protocol's momentum was further bolstered by the U.S. SEC clearing its name, which encouraged wider institutional adoption of its RWA offerings.
