DeFi Drama Unfolds as Aave’s Price Swings Tie to Trump-Linked WLFI

Aave (AAVE) has recently experienced price volatility tied to developments involving World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi platform backed by members of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s family. On August 17, 2025, the Aave token dropped by over 8%, reaching a low of $339 from a high of $385, before recovering to around $352. This movement followed a debate over the accuracy of a rumored 7% token allocation of WLFI to the Aave DAO. The claims were contested by WLFI, which described the report as false, leading to uncertainty among investors [1].

The controversy centered on an October 2024 WLFI community proposal suggesting that the Aave DAO would receive 7% of WLFI’s circulating supply and 20% of protocol revenues from the deployment of WLFI on Aave v3. Aave founder Stani Kulechov responded by calling the proposal “the art of the deal,” while indicating the terms remained valid [1]. This ambiguity in governance arrangements has contributed to short-term price instability, highlighting the sensitivity of DeFi tokens to cross-protocol partnerships and governance proposals.

From a technical perspective, Aave’s price on August 15, 2025, stood at $316.03, with analysts noting that it had broken through the floor of a rising trend channel. The token is currently trading within a rectangle pattern between support at $257 and resistance at $343. Analysts indicate that a decisive break above $343 could signal a bullish reversal, while a downward movement would suggest further consolidation or bearish momentum [2]. The 24-hour trading volume for Aave was $278.72 million, with a market cap of $5.37 billion and a circulating supply of 15.22 million AAVE tokens [3].

Looking ahead, price predictions for Aave suggest a range of $250 to $400 by the end of 2026, based on platform upgrades, regulatory developments, and increased DeFi adoption. By 2030, forecasts project a potential range of $600 to $1,000, contingent on Aave’s ability to maintain its leadership in decentralized finance and expand its ecosystem through integrations like the GHO stablecoin [4]. The long-term outlook is supported by the protocol’s growing total value locked (TVL), which approached $18 billion as of early 2025, and its deployment on multiple Ethereum layer-2 solutions, enhancing scalability and user accessibility [4].

The current DeFi environment is marked by a resurgence in institutional interest, with TVL surpassing $167 billion, driven by favorable regulatory signals following the 2024 U.S. elections. This trend is expected to continue if DeFi platforms can navigate regulatory scrutiny while maintaining their decentralized ethos [1]. Aave’s strategic partnerships, including its integration with WLFI, position it to benefit from increased adoption of decentralized financial services, particularly as algorithmic stablecoins and cross-platform liquidity solutions gain traction [4].

While the immediate price trajectory of Aave remains subject to governance uncertainties and market sentiment, the broader fundamentals suggest a path toward a potential reversal in its downtrend. Institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and technological advancements are likely to play critical roles in shaping Aave’s performance in the coming months and years.

Source:

[1] Aave tumbles as rumors swirl about World Liberty token (https://cointelegraph.com/news/aave-tumbles-rumors-world-liberty-token)

[2] Aave (AAVE) - Technical Analysis - Cryptocurrency (https://www.investtech.com/main/market.php?CompanyID=99402667)

[3] Aave Price Today | AAVE Coin Price (Live Aave Statistics) (https://delta.app/en/crypto/aave/)

[4] Aave Price Prediction 2025-2030 (https://99bitcoins.com/price-predictions/aave/)