AAVE

A massive capital shift is underway in the decentralized finance world. Over the past week, more than $1.7 billion worth of Ethereum has been withdrawn from the lending protocol Aave. This move significantly reduced the protocol’s available liquidity and caused interest rates to spike – briefly exceeding 10%.

Aave in the Spotlight: Interest Rates Surge
According to data from DefiLlama, Aave is the largest lending protocol on the Ethereum network, with total deposits exceeding $55 billion. The principle is simple: users deposit assets like ETH and earn yield when others borrow them.
But when major players start withdrawing funds en masse, the protocol reacts – by reducing liquidity and increasing borrowing interest rates. And that’s exactly what’s been happening lately.

Justin Sun at the Center of the Action
According to Marc Zeller, a contributor to the Aave project, billionaire and Tron founder Justin Sun is responsible for most of these withdrawals. On-chain analytics platform Arkham shows that wallets linked to Sun pulled over $646 million worth of ETH from Aave in just the past three days.
Interestingly, Sun still holds $80 million worth of ETH on Aave, suggesting this may not be a full exit but rather a strategic repositioning.
Additional withdrawals were made from wallets associated with the HTX exchange, where Sun serves as an advisor. These wallets removed another $455 million worth of ETH from Aave.
Meanwhile, British financial firm Abraxas Capital Management also joined the exodus, withdrawing $115 million worth of ETH over the past week.

ETH Withdrawals Bottlenecked, Network Congested
These massive outflows have reduced ETH availability on Aave, driving rates higher and disrupting investor strategies that depended on low borrowing costs.
According to beaconcha.in, the Ethereum network will need nearly 11 days to process the current backlog of over 627,000 ETH waiting to be unstaked.

Short-Term Ethereum Dip Despite Institutional Inflows
Despite Aave-related withdrawals, demand for Ethereum remains strong. Since May 15, nine spot Ethereum ETFs have attracted over $5 billion, with $2.5 billion flowing in over just the last five days.
Still, analysts note a disconnect between capital inflows and price action. While institutional adoption is growing, ETH saw a temporary dip – currently trading at $3,583, down 3% over the past 24 hours. Yet the coin is still up 9% over the past week and 35% over the past two weeks.

Crypto Market Under Pressure: Trump’s Tariff Talk Sparks Correction
Adding to the uncertainty is geopolitics – Donald Trump announced new tariffs on countries that fail to strike trade deals with the U.S., triggering tension across global markets.
📉 According to on-chain data, the global crypto market cap shrank by nearly $40 billion. Among the top 10 coins, Dogecoin was hit hardest (-6.61%), followed by XRP (-6%). Solana dropped 4.75%, and Cardano fell 5.38%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin held relatively strong, losing just 0.55% and remaining above $118,000.

🔍 Summary: Whales Shake Up Ethereum, But Long-Term Confidence Holds
Massive moves by Justin Sun and other major players disrupted Aave's liquidity, but institutional confidence in ETH remains solid. The market is currently adjusting to geopolitical risks and rising interest rates, yet the long-term outlook continues to point upward.

#JustinSun , #cryptotrading , #Ethereum , #defi , #AAVE

Stay one step ahead – follow our profile and stay informed about everything important in the world of cryptocurrencies!
Notice:
,,The information and views presented in this article are intended solely for educational purposes and should not be taken as investment advice in any situation. The content of these pages should not be regarded as financial, investment, or any other form of advice. We caution that investing in cryptocurrencies can be risky and may lead to financial losses.“