The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially concluded its investigation into the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave (AAVE), marking a significant development in the ongoing evolution of regulatory approaches within the cryptocurrency industry. Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of the Aave protocol, confirmed the end of the four-year investigation in a post on social media, expressing relief and optimism about the future of DeFi. Aave Founder Celebrates End Of SEC Investigation In his announcement, Kulechov emphasized the considerable effort and resources invested by the Aave team throughout this process. He stated, “We are finally ready to share that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol.” Highlighting the impact of regulatory scrutiny on DeFi, he added, “This process demanded significant effort… to protect Aave, its ecosystem, and DeFi more broadly.” Related Reading: Will Bitcoin Suffer A 20% Decline After Japan’s Rate Hike? Historical Patterns Suggest So Kulechov expressed hope for a new chapter in which developers can freely innovate and contribute to the future of finance, asserting, “DeFi will win.” This conclusion is notable against the backdrop of heightened regulatory pressure that DeFi projects have faced in recent years. Under the previous SEC chair, Gary Gensler, the agency made a concerted effort to enforce regulations in the crypto space. In 2021, the SEC initiated 19 enforcement actions related to cryptocurrency in just the first nine months. However, recent patterns reveal a substantial shift in the commission’s stance on crypto enforcement. SEC Eases Crypto Enforcement Actions By Over 60% Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the SEC has reportedly eased enforcement actions in over 60% of ongoing cryptocurrency cases. A New York Times investigation published recently analyzed thousands of government documents and court records, revealing that the SEC has either dismissed, paused, or reduced penalties for a significant majority of active crypto cases since January 20, 2021. Related Reading: XRP Price Forecast: Key Factors That Could Propel It To $3 In Early 2026 While Trump’s first term saw an average of one high-profile cryptocurrency case per month—including the notable action against Ripple Labs—the current landscape indicates a less aggressive regulatory approach for major players like Binance, Ripple, and Gemini. Following the administration shift, enforcement actions against these companies have either been withdrawn or significantly softened. Paul S. Atkins, the newly appointed SEC chair under the Trump administration, has labeled this regulatory shift a “new day” for the cryptocurrency industry. At the time of writing, the protocol’s native token, AAVE, was trading at $187, having only surged by 1% following the announcement. However, on a year-to-date basis, the AAVE token has seen a significant 52% drop, with prices currently 72% down from the all-time high of $661 reached in May 2021. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
Aave (AAVE), the leading decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, has captured the spotlight with an extraordinary surge of over 200% since November 5. Outperforming the broader market, AAVE has reached its highest levels since 2021, marking a remarkable recovery and reaffirming its dominance in the DeFi ecosystem. Related Reading: ONDO Exchange Inflows Grow – Volatility Ahead? Key metrics from IntoTheBlock underscore AAVE’s unmatched position in the lending sector. With an impressive 45% market share, it remains the top choice for users seeking decentralized borrowing and lending solutions. With AAVE trading at multi-year highs and on-chain data suggesting robust activity, the altcoin’s trajectory remains a focal point for investors and analysts alike. The question is whether the price can sustain this momentum and reach new all-time highs in the coming months. AAVE Keeps Growing Aave (AAVE) has shown consistent growth over the past year, solidifying its position as a market leader in the DeFi lending sector. Known for its innovative approach to creating non-custodial liquidity markets, Aave enables users to earn interest on supplied and borrowed assets at variable interest rates. This approach has made Aave a go-to protocol for decentralized borrowing and lending. For years, Aave has been at the forefront of DeFi innovation, continually enhancing its platform and user experience. Its success is evident in its market dominance. Metrics from IntoTheBlock highlight Aave’s unrivaled leadership, boasting an impressive 45% market share in the DeFi lending space. This dominance is further emphasized by Aave’s staggering total value locked (TVL), which stands at $21.2 billion—almost equal to the combined TVL of all other lending protocols. Related Reading: Ethereum On-Chain Metrics Looking Strong – Momentum Building For ETH? Such figures underline Aave’s critical role in the DeFi ecosystem. Its established presence and robust infrastructure position it as a key player in the event of a broader DeFi resurgence. Should the sector heat up in the coming weeks, Aave is likely to attract significant attention from investors and traders. Price Targets Fresh Supply Levels Aave (AAVE) is currently trading at $366, following a surge to a multi-year high of $396 just hours ago. The altcoin continues its upward momentum as it approaches the critical $420 resistance level, a threshold last held in September 2021. This mark is seen as a pivotal area for AAVE’s next phase of price action, with many analysts expecting a significant reaction once tested. If AAVE manages to hold its current levels and sustain the bullish momentum, the next logical target would be the $420 resistance zone. Breaking above this level could signal a continuation of its multi-month rally, setting the stage for even higher price targets as investor confidence builds. On the downside, failure to maintain support above the $320–$340 range could lead to a broader correction. A move below this zone might push the price lower, erasing some of its recent gains and dampening bullish sentiment in the short term. Related Reading: Dogecoin Will See New ATH Soon – Top Trader Sets $2 Target AAVE remains in a strong position for now, but traders are closely monitoring its price action near these key levels. Whether it can sustain its upward trajectory or faces a pullback will depend on its ability to break and hold above significant resistance zones. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView
US President-elect Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLF) has made a substantial multi-million-dollar investment in Ethereum (ETH), Aave (AAVE), and Chainlink (LINK), leading to sharp price increases in AAVE and LINK. According to on-chain analysis shared by Lookonchain via X and verified through Etherscan, the fund purchased approximately $10 million in ETH, $1 million in AAVE, and $1 million in LINK on December 11. These are the fund’s first recorded acquisitions of both AAVE and LINK, while overall purchases in the last 12 days total around $30 million in USDC spent to secure more than 8,000 ETH at an average price of $3,701. Trump’s World Liberty(@worldlibertyfi) is buying $ETH, $LINK and $AAVE! In the past 9 hours, the World Liberty Multisig wallet spent 10M $USDC to buy 2,631 $ETH at $3,801, 1M $USDC to buy 41,335 $LINK at $24.2, and 1M $USDC to buy 3,357 $AAVE at $297.8.https://t.co/mtD0c2tvvo pic.twitter.com/B11KvcwRJQ — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 12, 2024 Shortly after the news surfaced, AAVE soared roughly 31% in the past 24 hours, and LINK rose by about 23.5%. Related Reading: Chainlink Price Shines With 40% Rally — Is $28.5 Possible? The surge coincides with World Liberty Financial’s recent decision to integrate Chainlink’s technology. Last month, WLF announced that it “will leverage Chainlink as the standard for onchain data and cross-chain interoperability” to secure its protocol ecosystem. The press release described Chainlink as “the most secure solution for solving critical security, interoperability, and onchain data problems” while noting that this would “kick off the next wave of DeFi mass adoption” for WLFI. The platform plans to integrate Chainlink Price Feeds on Ethereum mainnet in anticipation of deploying a World Liberty Financial version of Aave’s v3 instance, pending governance approval. Related Reading: Whale Activity Sparks Chainlink Rally, $52 Target On Traders’ Radar In October, WLF submitted a proposal on the Aave governance forums seeking to deploy its own Aave v3 environment. Aave founder Stani Kulechov has confirmed that WLF’s instance is not a direct fork of Aave’s code but operates as a segregated version tied to separate, KYC-compliant front-ends. While this means WLF is tapping into the largest smart contract-compatible public blockchain and leveraging core decentralized finance primitives, it also maintains stringent compliance requirements. The project is initially limited to accredited investors within the United States. AAVE, which has risen by roughly 138% over the last five weeks, is also showing technical resilience. Today’s price action pushed it above the 0.5 Fib level at $356.84 (drawn from the all-time high to the cycle low). If this level holds on a weekly closing basis, upside targets could include the 0.618 Fib at $430.29, the 0.786 Fib at $534.87, and ultimately the ATH from May 2021 at $668. Chainlink’s performance over the past five weeks has been particularly strong, posting a gain of more than 175%. The most critical technical resistance level now appears to be the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $28.88. A decisive break above this level could open the path to the 0.618 Fib at $34.57, the 0.786 Fib at $42.67, and potentially the all-time high (ATH) from May 2021 at $53. At press time, LINK traded at $27.67. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com