Aave's net deposits of $38.3 billion hit a new high, Ethereum Gas fees rise to 53 Gwei, is DeFi about to explode?

Ethereum lending protocol Aave's net deposits recently surpassed $38.3 billion, not only exceeding the peak of the 2021 bull market but also reaching an all-time high. This reflects a significant demand for leveraged funds, potentially indicating that users have an optimistic outlook for the future or are driven by other attractions (such as high yields). If the market further warms up in the future, these deposit funds are expected to become the basis for borrowing, further driving market activity. (Background: Aave triggered a $1.3 billion 'Polygon withdrawal' crisis, Polygon's founder criticized: monopoly does not align with the spirit of web3) (Additional background: Ethereum staking income permanently declining? Aave integrating Chainlink SVR may rewrite the DeFi landscape) Since Trump's election, investors have been expecting a friendly regulatory environment to benefit DeFi, and after the Trump family project World Liberty Financial significantly increased its position in Ethereum ecosystem DeFi tokens, confidence in Ethereum DeFi has grown. Aave's net deposits first broke $38.3 billion. Token Terminal data shows that the net deposits of Ethereum lending protocol leader Aave recently reached $38.379 billion for the first time, surpassing the level of about $30 billion during the 2021 bull market, and setting a historical high for lending protocols. Among them, the net deposits of Aave and Lido combined amount to $68.549 billion, accounting for nearly half of the total of the top 20 decentralized applications at $144.897 billion, as high as 47.3%. Ethereum Gas fees surged above 53 Gwei. We know that Aave adopts an over-collateralization model, so the increase in net deposits reflects a significant demand for leveraged funds, which may indicate that users have an optimistic outlook for the future or are driven by other attractions (such as high yields). If the market further warms up in the future, these deposit funds are expected to become the basis for borrowing, further driving market activity. Additionally, Etherscan data shows that Ethereum gas fees have risen to 53.183 Gwei, further highlighting the increase in on-chain activity. Furthermore, the record high net deposits also indicate that Aave, as a lending protocol, is increasing its attractiveness and trustworthiness, and may attract more participation from traditional financial institutions. Artemis founder Jon Ma recently tweeted a prediction: "Traditional finance (TradFi) participants will drive the total market value of crypto assets from the current $3.5 trillion to over $100 trillion." According to DeFiLlama data, this year DeFi TVL (Total Value Locked) has increased by 130%, reaching $125.3 billion, and once hitting a new high of $140.9 billion on December 17. DeFi TVL Aave and Polygon controversy. Another point of discussion is that the recent proposal for Aave to withdraw from Polygon has sparked heated debate. The incident originated from a pre-proposal put forward by the Polygon community regarding the "Polygon PoS cross-chain liquidity plan," suggesting that about $1.3 billion in stablecoin reserves within the cross-chain bridge be deployed to DeFi protocols such as Morpho and Yearn to generate yields. However, Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave contributor team ACI, expressed concerns about this, believing that such actions could increase security risks for the cross-chain bridge, especially considering past vulnerabilities that have caused significant losses to the DeFi ecosystem. Therefore, Zeller suggested that Aave withdraw from Polygon to protect the protocol from potential risks. In response, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron believed that Aave's actions implied an intention to suppress DeFi competitors and questioned their anti-competitive behavior. This incident sparked widespread community discussion, questioning whether Aave's actions were motivated by concerns for protocol security or an attempt to suppress competitors. Because if Polygon chooses to deploy to Aave, would they still take such actions? Further reading: Aave triggered a $1.3 billion 'Polygon withdrawal' crisis, Polygon's founder criticized: monopoly does not align with the spirit of web3. Related reports: Will AAVE's price surge to new highs again? Chainlink's assistance expected to generate tens of millions annually. Aave and Lido's total TVL first broke $70 billion, dominating half of the DeFi world. The Trump family further increased their stake in DeFi! Buying ONDO, AAVE, ENA tokens, with holdings exceeding $80 million. "Aave's net deposits of $38.3 billion hit a new high, Ethereum Gas fees rise to 53 Gwei, is DeFi about to explode?" This article was first published on BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).