Grayscale has announced the launch of the Grayscale Aave Trust, a crypto investment fund focused on the DeFi lending protocol Aave. This news has caused Aave’s token (AAVE) to see a 3% increase in value within the past hour, reaching $143. However, the token has seen a decline of over 16% in the last week.
The newly launched Aave Trust will offer accredited individual and institutional investors direct exposure to AAVE. This allows investors to gain exposure to AAVE in the form of a security without the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping AAVE directly. Currently, the Trust holds around $150,000 in assets.
Aave is a decentralized lending platform built on Ethereum that facilitates automated crypto loans backed by other tokens as collateral. It is the largest lending protocol by total value locked, with approximately $20 billion currently locked. Aave is one of the most utilized platforms in the DeFi sector, generating over $1 million in fees in the past 24 hours.
Grayscale’s Head of Product & Research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, believes that the Aave Trust could reshape traditional finance by leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts. This decentralized model aims to enhance lending and borrowing processes by reducing intermediaries and human involvement.
The launch of the Aave Trust comes shortly after Grayscale introduced its XRP Trust. Grayscale now manages Trusts for over 20 digital assets, including Solana, Litecoin, Chainlink, and ZCash. The total value of assets under Grayscale’s crypto trust management is approximately $7 billion, according to CoinGlass data.
Overall, the launch of the Grayscale Aave Trust is a significant development in the crypto investment space. Investors now have the opportunity to gain exposure to AAVE through a security offered by Grayscale, without the complexities of directly buying and storing the token. This move further solidifies Grayscale’s position as a leading provider of crypto investment products in the market.