Standard Chartered thinks AAVE could be one of crypto’s top performers in the next five years, predicting the DeFi token might reach $3,500 by 2030.
The bank points to renewed growth in decentralized finance, more use of tokenized real-world assets, and AAVE’s recovery from this year’s security issues as key drivers.
This outlook suggests AAVE could do better than both Bitcoin and Ether during this time, showing increased confidence that DeFi may be entering a new era of institutional adoption.
Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, gave this optimistic forecast as he began formally covering AAVE for the first time.
The report says AAVE has bounced back after the disruption caused by the collapse of KelpDAO’s rsETH bridge in April. That incident let attackers use almost $290 million in stolen assets as collateral, which raised concerns about big losses for AAVE and led to many users withdrawing their funds.
Despite this setback, Kendrick thinks AAVE has regained market trust as assets slowly return to the platform.
He compares AAVE to a fully automated digital bank that runs on smart contracts instead of staff. At its peak in October 2025, AAVE reportedly held about $75 billion in deposits, which would have made it one of the 30 largest banks in the US.
Standard Chartered expects decentralized finance to get a boost from the fast growth of tokenized real-world assets. As more governments and financial institutions tokenize bonds, funds, and other traditional assets, more collateral should move into on-chain lending platforms like AAVE.
The bank estimates that tokenized assets used in DeFi could grow nearly 37 times by the end of the decade. Since AAVE makes money from lending and deposits, more on-chain activity could directly increase its earnings and drive-up demand for the AAVE token.
Another possible boost for AAVE is its planned token buyback program. The report also points to Horizon, AAVE’s permissioned lending project focused on tokenized real-world assets, which could appeal to banks and institutional investors looking for regulated blockchain lending options.
Even though the wider crypto market has been volatile lately, Standard Chartered thinks better market conditions and more institutional involvement could help DeFi recover in the long run.
If this trend continues, the bank expects AAVE to stay one of the main winners in the sector, keeping its place as one of the biggest decentralized lending platforms in crypto.
LATEST: 📊 Standard Chartered says AAVE could hit $3,500 by 2030, arguing it has regained assets lost during April’s Kelp DAO exploit and is primed for a DeFi revival. pic.twitter.com/GipDeXhtId
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