Aave positioned to capture tokenized asset growth in DeFi: Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered research suggests that the integration of tokenized real-world assets into decentralized finance will significantly boost deposits for the Aave lending protocol. Geoff Kendrick, the bank's global head of digital assets research, notes that Aave is well-positioned to regain its status as a dominant onchain lending platform despite recent challenges. The protocol previously faced setbacks, including a broader decline in digital asset prices and a $292 million cybertheft incident involving KelpDAO in April that reduced its market share. However, the bank anticipates these negative factors will fade as digital asset prices recover and the protocol moves past the security incident. With an October 2025 deposit base of approximately $75 billion, Aave already possesses a scale comparable to the 30th-largest U.S. bank. Standard Chartered projects that tokenized assets will increasingly serve as collateral and liquidity sources within DeFi, further driving growth. This analysis extends the bank's broader thesis that total value locked in DeFi could reach $2.7 trillion by 2030, with Aave serving as a primary venue for borrowing against tokenized assets.