Aave hit $100M on Monad in 48 hours flat

iEXExchanger
Aave hit $100M on Monad in 48 hours flat

Aave deployed on Monad and pulled in $100 million in deposits inside 48 hours — more than a quarter of the network's total value. Monad Foundation committed $15M in incentives to land the protocol.

Measuring the appeal of a new blockchain takes time — unless someone drops $100 million into it in 48 hours.

Aave, the largest lending protocol in decentralized finance, deployed its V3 on Monad on July 2. The new layer-1 blockchain is EVM-compatible and positions itself as far faster than Ethereum while maintaining full Solidity tooling. It spent months in testnet before opening publicly with roughly $360 million in total value locked across the ecosystem.

Depositors moved fast. Within 24 hours, the Aave market on Monad crossed $75 million. By the 48-hour mark, deposits topped $100 million — more than a quarter of Monad's entire network value at that point. The market launched with 12 assets: USDT0, USDC, GHO, WETH, Coinbase's cbBTC, and others.

Getting Aave wasn't cheap. The Monad Foundation committed $15 million in first-year incentives, agreed to acquire and hold at least 10 million GHO tokens (Aave's stablecoin) for six months or more, and the Aave DAO added another 500,000 GHO to seed liquidity. Monad received version V3.7 rather than the current V4, with future migration at the Foundation's discretion.

The same day, Aave V4 on other networks hit a new all-time high at $250 million in deposits — confirming that the Monad launch attracted fresh capital rather than cannibalizing existing pools.

Up next: Pendle PT assets and Fastlane's shMON liquid staking token are expected to join in a second phase. The real test will come once incentive programs taper off and organic demand has to carry the market on its own.

Questions and answers

Frequently asked questions about this article

What is Monad?

Monad is a new layer-1 blockchain that is fully EVM-compatible — meaning it works with existing Ethereum smart contracts and developer tools — but is engineered for much higher throughput and lower latency than Ethereum mainnet.

What is TVL and why does it matter?

TVL (Total Value Locked) is the total amount of assets deposited into a DeFi protocol or blockchain ecosystem. It's the primary measure of capital confidence: a rising TVL means more real money is actively being put to work inside a protocol.

Why did Monad Foundation pay $15M to attract Aave?

Having a top DeFi protocol like Aave signals ecosystem credibility and draws in other developers and users. The TVL Aave brings generates real trading volume, circulates the GHO stablecoin, and puts the network on the radar of institutional players. For a young chain, it's one of the fastest ways to build momentum.

What is GHO?

GHO is Aave's own stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar. It is minted through Aave's lending mechanism: a user deposits collateral and borrows GHO against it. The Monad Foundation's commitment to hold 10 million GHO helps maintain its liquidity and dollar peg on the new chain.

Did the Monad deployment cannibalize other Aave markets?

No. Aave V4 on other networks actually hit a new all-time high of $250 million in deposits the same day. The data suggests the Monad market attracted new capital rather than pulling funds away from existing Aave deployments.

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