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Aave V4 launches at EthCC with ‘hub-and-spoke’ design for RWAs and structured credit

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Aave V4 launches at EthCC with ‘hub-and-spoke’ design for RWAs and structured credit

Aave V4 is live on Ethereum with a hub-and-spoke design that keeps liquidity pooled while routing credit to bespoke RWA and structured credit markets for institutions.

Summary

  • Aave has launched V4 on Ethereum mainnet, introducing a “hub-and-spoke” architecture aimed at real‑world asset (RWA) collateral and institutional structured credit markets.news.
  • The protocol, which secures more than $24 billion in total value locked (TVL), is positioning V4 as core infrastructure for regulated RWA pipelines and on‑chain credit products rather than purely speculative leverage.
  • V4 debuts with three liquidity hubs—Core, Prime and Plus—that route credit to specialized “spokes,” allowing bespoke risk policies without fragmenting Aave’s pooled liquidity.governance.

Aave (AAVE) has used EthCC 2026 in Cannes as the launchpad for its long‑anticipated V4 upgrade, activating a new “hub‑and‑spoke” architecture on Ethereum (ETH) mainnet that is explicitly designed to serve real‑world assets and institutional credit strategies. The decentralized lending protocol, which Phemex notes already holds more than $24 billion in TVL, is betting that its next phase of growth will come from RWA‑backed lending and structured products, not just yield‑farming loops.

In The Block, V4 is described as a system in which a central liquidity “Hub” extends credit lines to multiple lending markets, with Aave establishing three main hubs—Prime, Core and Plus—to segregate assets and use cases by risk level. Governance documentation on the Aave forum explains that “V4 allows each Spoke to define its own risk appetite, collateral policies, and liquidation rules while drawing on shared Hub liquidity,” likening the model to “a supranational bank allocating capital to regional facilities, each operating under its own mandate.” In practice, that means RWAs, fixed‑rate lending and more complex credit structures can sit in their own spokes, with conservative caps and isolation mechanisms, without splintering Aave’s overall liquidity or forcing users to choose between entirely separate pools.governance.

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Coverage from Bitcoin.com and Me3 frames Aave V4 as a fundamental redesign rather than a minor version bump, highlighting that the new architecture “supports new market types like fixed‑rate lending and tokenized real‑world asset collateral” and “enables institutional borrowing against RWAs without fragmenting the protocol’s existing liquidity pool.” Those capabilities tie directly into Aave’s 2026 “master plan,” where founder Stani Kulechov outlined three pillars: the V4 upgrade, Horizon—an RWA platform tailored to institutions—and a new front‑end app aimed at onboarding mainstream users. Horizon is already focused on regulated, compliance‑aligned lending, targeting tokenized treasuries, real estate and private credit, with Kulechov’s goal to grow that platform beyond $1 billion in assets and deepen partnerships with firms like Circle, Ripple, Franklin Templeton and VanEck.

Those ambitions are underpinned by scale that is unusual even within DeFi. According to figures shared by Aave and cited by MEXC, the protocol has processed more than $3.33 trillion in total deposits since launch and issued close to $1 trillion in loans, generating around $885 million in fee revenue and capturing roughly 59% of the decentralized lending market. In that context, the decision to anchor V4’s debut to EthCC—amid a broader institutional turn at the conference—signals that Aave sees itself less as a pure crypto‑native money market and more as a candidate backbone for an on‑chain credit system that can handle both degen leverage and Basel‑sensitive collateral flows.

The launch comes after months of governance work and a sizeable funding push. In March, Aave Labs submitted the “Aave Will Win” framework, asking the DAO for $25 million in stablecoins and 75,000 AAVE tokens—about $42.5 million in total—to finance V4 development, a new independent foundation and growth initiatives targeting fintechs and institutions. A separate governance proposal set out the V4 activation path and initial asset range on Ethereum, with Kulechov telling the community on X that V4 is a “full redesign of the protocol’s structure” aimed at moving “the next trillion dollars in assets” on‑chain.

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For users, the immediate changes include a more modular risk framework and the prospect of borrowing against a broader set of tokenized assets while still benefiting from Aave’s deep, shared liquidity. For the broader DeFi market, the upgrade cements a narrative shift: as more protocols chase RWA flows and institutional capital, flagship money markets like Aave are quietly turning into on‑chain credit utilities, with EthCC now serving as the stage where that transition is announced.

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Crypto World

Drift Protocol Warns of Potential Cybersecurity Exploit

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Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange

Drift Protocol, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX), detected “unusual” trading activity on the platform on Wednesday, warning users not to deposit funds until the issue has been resolved.

The Drift team did not disclose the specific cause of the ongoing incident or the damage in its initial announcement and is currently investigating the issue. 

In a subsequent update, the Drift team announced that deposits and withdrawals on the platform have been suspended. 

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Source: Drift Protocol

Blockchain cybersecurity threat researcher Vladimir S said the exploit was likely due to a crypto wallet private key leak, and the total funds lost in the incident could be as high as $200 million. 

“Admin signer was compromised, or whoever controls it intentionally executed these changes,” he said

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The stolen assets include wrapped versions of Bitcoin (BTC), Jito (JTO), the Fartcoin (FRT) memecoin, other altcoins, and various dollar, euro, and Japanese yen stablecoins, which have since been transferred to multiple wallets, according to Vladimir S.

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Source: Vladimir S

The exploiter started converting the stolen assets to the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, bridging the funds to the Ethereum network and purchasing Ether (ETH), according to Solana treasury company DeFi Development Corp.

Cointelegraph reached out to Drift Protocol but did not receive an immediate response by the time of publication. 

Cybersecurity exploits and hacks were responsible for $49 million in crypto losses during February, a sharp decrease from January, but a reflection of the ongoing security threats users and platforms face.

Related: Resolv temporarily halts protocol to ‘contain the impact’ of 80M USR exploit

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Drift token impacted by the exploit

The price of the Drift (DRIFT) token briefly reached $0.68 on Wednesday, but fell by about 18% following news of the exploit, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Drift token falls after news of the exploit. Source: CoinMarketCap

About 83% of the native crypto tokens of hacked platforms never recover to pre-hack prices, according to blockchain security company Immunefi. 

“The stolen funds are only the first layer of damage,” Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador told Cointelegraph in March.

“What follows is often more destructive: sustained token price suppression, reduced treasury capacity, leadership disruption, lost development time, and erosion of user trust,” he added. 

Magazine: WazirX hackers prepped 8 days before attack, swindlers fake fiat for USDT: Asia Express

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