Aave v4, the latest version of the dominant DeFi lending protocol, has surpassed $50 million in deposits on Ethereum. That's double the $25 million figure from just one month ago, according to DeFiLlama.
The Aave DAO approved the activation of v4 on May 4, 2026, after a governance vote that deliberately embraced a conservative launch strategy. Credit lines and asset onboarding remain restricted, a direct response to a $50 million slippage incident in March 2026 that exposed liquidity risks in DeFi.
On May 9, 2026, deposits had already blown past $50 million. This is barely a week after the activation, and the growth is noteworthy despite being dwarfed by v3's billions in TVL.
A follow-up DAO vote to finalize broader parameters is the next catalyst. If the vote expands credit lines, a second wave of deposit growth could follow. Meanwhile, Aave faces competition from Morpho, Spark, and Fluid, which have been chipping away at market share.