Rationale for Deprecation and Wind-Downs
Published 8/3/2026, 8:22:18 AM
Aave is deprecating 50 low-adoption asset reserves and winding down deployments on six blockchain networks as part of a strategic protocol rationalization initiative announced on July 30, 2026 [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401]. This move, the first major implementation of the Aave Risk Framework introduced in June 2026, aims to reduce the protocol's operational, technical, and economic risk surface to focus on high-impact priorities like Aave V4 and securities finance [Source: https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/2082705513750352005].
Rationale for Deprecation and Wind-Downs
The primary driver is the imbalance between the high cost of maintaining these markets and the negligible revenue they generate. The affected deployments represent less than 1% of Aave's $14.3 billion total deposits [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401].
| Factor | Details |
|---|---|
| Economic Infeasibility | The six deprecated chains generate less than $5,000 per quarter in revenue, which fails to cover fixed costs for Chainlink oracles and risk monitoring [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401]. |
| Liquidity Collapse | TVL on affected chains has dropped significantly over six months: Soneium (-95%), Aptos (-94%), zkSync (-88%), Scroll (-86%), Metis (-79%), and Sonic (-74%) [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401]. |
| Strategic Pivot | Resources are being redirected toward Aave V4, which saw deposits surpass $300 million in July 2026 [Source: https://www.kucoin.com/blog/en-aave-v4-deposits-surge-past-300-million-as-active-loans-hit-100-million-all-time-high]. |
| Risk Mitigation | Low-adoption assets like FBTC ($11.1M supply) and eBTC ($5.3M) on Ethereum Core carry disproportionate technical risks relative to their usage [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401]. |
Affected Networks and Assets
Aave is executing a full exit from the following six chains:
- Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos.
Additionally, 50 specific asset reserves are being deprecated, including:
- Ethereum Core Assets: FBTC, eBTC, CRV ($2.2M), and UNI ($1.7M) [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401].
- Matured Instruments: 21 Pendle Principal Tokens (PTs) that have reached their maturity dates.
- Bridged Tokens: Assets like USDC.e and USDbC are being removed to consolidate liquidity into native versions and reduce bridge-related risks.
Wind-Down Mechanism
To ensure an orderly exit and avoid sudden liquidations, Aave is employing a "soft" wind-down strategy:
- Market Freezing: New supply, borrowing, and collateral usage are disabled.
- Cap Reductions: Supply and borrow caps are lowered to 1.
- Economic Incentives: The Reserve Factor (RF) is increased to 99% on retiring deployments, and base borrow rates are set to 5% to make supplying unattractive and borrowing expensive, encouraging users to close positions manually [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401].
This cleanup affects approximately $98.1 million in supplied assets and $15.6 million in outstanding debt [Source: https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-low-adoption-asset-deprecation-on-aave-v3/25401]. While these markets are being closed, Aave continues to see growth in its core V4 markets, which reached an all-time high of $100 million in active loans in July 2026 [Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/aave-v4-deposits-reach-300m/].