DeFi lending giant Aave could reach $3,500 by 2030, Standard Chartered forecasts

Kendrick compared Aave to an automated, blockchain-based bank that operates without employees or discretionary decision-making. At its peak in October 2025, the protocol held roughly $75 billion in deposits, a level the analyst said would have ranked it among the 30 largest banks in the U.S.

Looking ahead, Kendrick expects the value of tokenized assets actively used within DeFi applications to increase 37-fold by the end of the decade. Because Aave’s revenue model is tied closely to lending activity and deposits, the bank anticipates the protocol’s growth to translate relatively directly into gains for the AAVE token.

The report also pointed to the potential restart of Aave’s token buyback program as a further catalyst. The protocol’s Horizon initiative, which is designed to support lending against tokenized real-world assets in a permissioned environment, could help attract traditional financial institutions and accelerate adoption.

Despite recent market weakness across digital assets, the broader backdrop for crypto prices is improving and Aave is expected to be among the beneficiaries as capital returns to DeFi, the report added.

Aave was 5.6% higher over the last 24 hours, trading around $76.

Read more: DeFi shaken by $292 million hack, but showing resilience, Standard Chartered says