Aave TVL Reaches $27.4B...On-Chain Lending Accounts for 47.8%

Aave's August total value locked (TVL) reached $2.74 billion (approximately KRW 36.9 trillion), a 13.7% increase from the previous month. Active loans amounted to $1.17 billion (approximately KRW 15.76 trillion), growing by 12.9% and accounting for approximately 47.8% of the on-chain lending market, according to Token Terminal.

TVL represents the dollar value of assets locked in a protocol, while active loans refer to the actual amount borrowed by users. TVL includes both the quantity of deposited assets and fluctuations in underlying asset prices, so an increase does not necessarily indicate new capital inflow or higher loan balances. Active loans are calculated as the sum of assets borrowed across Aave's lending markets.

While the monthly growth rate for active loans was lower than that of TVL, Aave still held a 47.8% market share in on-chain lending for August. Expansion services also showed growth: Aave V4's TVL rose by 53.4% month-on-month to $442 million (approximately KRW 595.4 billion), and Aave Horizon, an RWA-focused service, reached $372 million (approximately KRW 501.1 billion).

Aave Labs reported in its August development update that Aave V4's deposits had surpassed $800 million and active loans hit a record high. However, these figures may differ from those reported by Token Terminal due to varying calculation methodologies.

Earlier reports about Aave V4 deposits exceeding $400 million according to foreign media contrasted with the official channel's figure of $300 million. Similarly, different data providers have shown discrepancies in overall Aave TVL figures, such as CoinMarketCap and DefiLlama previously reporting differing numbers.

Monthly active users declined to 68,900 for August, marking a four-month consecutive decrease and the lowest level since early 2024. While deposit size and loan balances increased, the number of accounts using the protocol decreased, indicating that some users may be borrowing larger amounts while others reduce their activity.

Aave's native stablecoin GHO reached a market capitalization of $662 million (approximately KRW 891.7 billion), hitting an all-time high. This occurred alongside declining monthly active users, suggesting divergent trends between asset scale and user base expansion.

For lending protocols, it is important to monitor both deposited assets and borrowed assets separately. Rising collateral prices can increase TVL without new deposits, while a decrease in users may still see higher active loans if large borrowers increase their positions.

Aave's August metrics show that overall protocol assets, loan volumes, expansion services like V4 and Horizon, and GHO market cap all grew, yet monthly active users continued to decline. Each metric varies based on reporting methodology and scope, so it is necessary to consider TVL, active loans, and monthly active users together for a comprehensive view.