Aave

Aave is one of the oldest and most dominant protocols in DeFi. Founded in 2017 as ETHLend, the network specializes in lending and borrowing. As opposed to centralized institutions like banks, anyone can put funds into a blockchain-based lending pool, and anyone can borrow capital. 

In 2020, Finnish developer Stani Kulechov relaunched ETHLend as Aave, and crypto enthusiasts seeking capital or yield have since locked up billions of dollars inside the protocol. Kulechov's company has also expanded beyond lending to issuing its own stablecoin and launching its own fintech app. More recently, Aave has come under pressure. After notching a high of nearly $45 billion in capital in its lending protocol in October 2025, the amount of money on the network has fallen to $12 billion amid the recent crypto downturn and exposure to a major hack of other crypto protocols in April 2026. After the exploit, industry players rushed to make Aave whole.