Grayscale Research forecasts significant upside for AAVE despite a 71% drop over the past year amid strong DeFi market position.
Grayscale Research predicts AAVE, the native token of decentralized lending protocol Aave, could surge 140% following a 71% decline over the past year. The token has fallen 48% year-to-date and 13% in the last month, trading at $73 with a 3.4% daily drop at press time.
Aave leads the DeFi sector with over $59 billion in deposits and $25 billion in loans outstanding, capturing a dominant share of user activity. The protocol averages nearly 200,000 monthly users and generates revenue from borrowing fees, portions of which are shared with AAVE token holders.
Grayscale highlights Aave’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure, which governs protocol decisions and capital allocation. The firm views Aave as a clear DeFi analog to traditional financial institutions, despite its non-corporate, permissionless model.