Aave held on to 59.79% market share in March 2026 even as activity cooled after February volatility, with total value locked reaching $42.34 billion. The protocol’s position in lending stayed firm, but several monthly indicators moved lower as conditions normalized and revenue sources shifted.
TVL and loans slipped month over month, annual growth stayed strong
Token Terminal data showed Aave’s TVL fell 5.79% from the previous month, while rising 45.45% from a year earlier. Active loans followed the same pattern, down 6.96% on the month but up 47.32% year over year. The March slowdown did not erase the broader expansion seen across the past 12 months.
Fees and revenue also came down from February levels. Fees reached $43.94 million, while revenue fell to $6.64 million. According to the source material, the decline was tied to lower liquidation and SVR income rather than a clear drop in lending demand.
Active users fell 26%, but Aave’s lending share stayed resilient
Monthly active users dropped to 114,400, a 26% decline from February. Even so, the figure remained slightly above the level recorded a year earlier. That pullback did little to dislodge Aave’s dominance in lending, with market share still hovering near 60% despite a small monthly dip.
Capital distribution across chains also shifted. Ethereum kept more than 80% of total value locked, yet networks such as Base and Arbitrum captured a larger share of user activity during the month.
V4 launch and distribution deals expanded Aave’s reach
March performance came alongside major product rollouts. Aave launched V4 and Aave Pro on Ethereum, introducing a modular hub-and-spoke architecture built to support more flexible borrowing strategies. Aave Labs said the design enables multiple markets to share liquidity more efficiently, allowing the protocol to serve both retail and institutional participants at the same time.
Distribution channels widened as well. Whop Treasury went live, and integrations with Privy Earn and Kraken DeFi Earn extended access beyond the protocol’s traditional DeFi user base.
GHO passed $500 million as institutional borrowing held steady
While the core monthly metrics softened, GHO continued to grow. Its market capitalization moved above $500 million for the first time in March, and transfer volume climbed to $5.34 billion. That growth added another source of momentum inside the broader Aave ecosystem.
Institutional activity showed a mixed picture. Aave Horizon posted lower TVL, yet borrowing demand remained relatively stable, with average loan size above $1 million. The data points to continued participation from larger borrowers even as overall activity cooled.