Aave scraps 50 asset reserves and shuts down six networks

The DeFi lending protocol Aave is conducting a major cleanup. Following an extensive review, the protocol is removing 50 underused asset reserves across multiple deployments and withdrawing from six networks. The changes are part of a new risk framework and affect a total of $98.1M in outstanding supply and $15.6M in debt.

Aave is available at OKX and Bybit.

Six networks to be closed

Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced that the protocol is winding down its operations on Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium and Aptos in an orderly manner. This decision includes an additional 25 asset reserves on top of the 50 reserves being removed elsewhere. Together, they form a significant part of the overall cleanup the protocol is currently undertaking.

In addition, 21 expired Pendle Principal Tokens are being removed from the market to make room for new maturities. According to Kulechov, all these measures contribute to lowering both the economic and technical risk of the protocol. This is happening within the framework of the new Aave Risk Framework and the Technical Asset Listing Framework. More details on the review can be found on the Aave governance forum.

Largest DeFi lending protocol continues to grow

Aave is currently the largest lending protocol in DeFi measured by total value locked, with approximately $14.3 billion spread across 23 networks. The cleanup is therefore not a sign of decline, but rather a strategic choice to maintain the quality of assets on the platform. By removing low-barrier and underused reserves, Aave aims to make its infrastructure leaner and safer.

The protocol indicates that it will continue to conduct ongoing risk assessments for all assets on all active deployments in the future. In this way, Aave wants to prevent similar situations from accumulating again. The developments at Aave fit into a broader trend in which DeFi protocols are becoming increasingly selective about which assets they support, something also visible in the rise of RWA tokens as the leading category in the crypto market of July 2026. More information about the Aave token is available via Blockchainstories.