Standard Chartered and Grayscale Both Have This DeFi Pick in Common

Two of finance’s biggest names have converged on the same crypto bet. Standard Chartered and Grayscale both see strong upside for Aave (AAVE), the decentralized finance (DeFi) lender, despite a rough year for the token.

The dual signal arrives with the altcoin near $82.69, up about 0.3% on the day and 12% over the past week. Both firms tie the upside to tokenized assets moving on-chain.

Two Heavyweights, One DeFi Pick

AAVE, like the broader crypto market, posted significant losses in 2026, with the token down roughly 43% year-to-date. Selling pressure intensified in April after the KelpDAO exploit.

Yet, the analyst case has turned firmly bullish. Earlier this week, Standard Chartered put forth a $3,500 target for end-2030. The call implies a roughly 50x gain.

“We forecast significant upside for digital asset token prices into year-end, and we think Aave has moved beyond the April incident. Longer-term, we expect the value of tokenized assets active in DeFi to increase 37x between now and end-2030, driving more deposits to the platform,” Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, said.

Grayscale named AAVE among 15 protocols that are “attractively valued.” Its base one-year target is $179, with Grayscale pegging upside over 100%, and a bull case around $271.

It flagged the proposed CLARITY Act as a catalyst that could help unlock the value.

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Aave’s Fundamentals Behind the Conviction

DefiLlama data supports the case. Aave holds about $12.2 billion in deposits, leading Morpho at $7.06 billion and Spark at $5.3 billion.

The gap widens on active loans. The protocol’s $10.9 billion loan book runs roughly three times Morpho’s $3.7 billion and dwarfs Spark’s $1.6 billion.

That lead holds despite a sector retreat. CryptoRank data shows active loans across major lenders down 42.3% this year, from $35.3 billion to $20.4 billion. Yet, Aave maintained its lead.

Newer infrastructure is gaining traction, too. Aave V4 crossed $200 million in deposits within three months of its launch, roughly doubling each month.

While Aave still towers over its rivals, it cannot escape a shrinking market. Its total value locked (TVL) fell sharply after the Kelp DAO exploit.

Industry-wide DeFi TVL has slid through 2026, falling 39%. Whether tokenized assets scale as analysts expect will shape AAVE’s next move.

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