Aave, the leading decentralized lending protocol, announced a major restructuring plan to phase out 50 low-usage asset reserves and discontinue deployments on multiple blockchain networks. The decision followed a comprehensive review of its supported markets, as disclosed by founder Stani Kulechov on July 30.
Protocol Streamlining: The deprecation covers $98.1 million in total assets and $15.6 million in outstanding loans across affected reserves. Aave will also wind down operations on Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos, removing an additional 25 asset reserves. Furthermore, expired Pendle principal token (PT) assets will be replaced with similar PT assets carrying updated maturity dates.
Market Reaction: AAVE token recovered from a dip near $96 to trade around $97.47, up 0.84% in the recent four-hour candle. The price remains above key long-term moving averages, with the 50-period EMA at $96.56, the 100-period EMA at $95.00, and the 200-period EMA at $91.95 acting as support. However, the immediate resistance lies at the 20-period EMA of $97.63. A decisive break above this level could propel the token toward $98.50 and the psychologically important $100 mark.
Derivatives Data: Open interest slipped from $149.4 million to $148.4 million in 24 hours, indicating cautious positioning. Long liquidations spiked, with one cluster hitting nearly $85,000, while short liquidations remained muted. The Stochastic RSI is climbing from oversold territory, suggesting selling momentum may be waning, but stronger buying volume is still needed for a sustained breakout.
