DeFi is back—but AAVE isn’t skyrocketing. Why?

Active loans on Aave have tripled this year, but the token is “only” up 75%.

With over $10 billion in active loans, Aave is crushing it. You’d have to go back to early 2022 to see numbers like this.

So why isn’t AAVE’s price skyrocketing?

It’s simple: the AAVE token is a governance token.

Yes, it can be staked (with an APY of ~4.4%) or used as collateral. But it doesn’t directly benefit from Aave’s surging activity. It’s a closed system.

That’s why AAVE has outperformed many altcoins but hasn’t gone parabolic. The price reflects its utility and structure—not just hype.