PANews reported on August 26th that according to Cryptoslate, DefiLlama data showed that the total value locked (TVL) of the decentralized lending protocol Aave reached a record high of $41.1 billion on August 24th. Based on Federal Reserve commercial bank deposit data as of June 30th, this size would rank 54th among US commercial banks, surpassing Prosperity Bank, which had $38.4 billion in deposits, and only $300 million away from surpassing Bank OZK. Including the $28.9 billion in outstanding loans on that day, Aave's total size reached $71.1 billion, placing it among the top 37 (top 1.7%) of US commercial banks. Founder Stani Kulechov stated that the protocol is not a bank, but rather an open network accessible to financial institutions, providing a source of revenue unconnected to the Federal Reserve.

As of August 24, Aave controls approximately 50% of the total TVL of the DeFi lending market, dominating the lending sector at $81.5 billion, nearly six times that of its largest competitor, Morpho ($7 billion).