Ethereum whales are buying up DeFi tokens after the market dip

Whales are re-accumulating DeFi tokens, as the entire ecosystem followed the recent Ethereum (ETH) dip. The buying is focused on major lending protocols, which have retained a large part of their value despite the market correction.

DeFi lending protocols are still in demand, as whales are re-accumulating positions in some of the top DeFi assets. After a turbulent day, whale buyers are back, re-buying the leading tokens at a discount. Tokens were not the main focus, as larger traders also bought the dip on Ethereum (ETH). However, the top DeFi protocols managed to reverse their recent price drop. 

Based on Alphanomics data, inflows are back to the top performers for each narrative. In the case of the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, Aave (AAVE) is the top pick. 

Aave buyback may boost token price

The Aave lending protocol saw buying from 200 whales for a total of $9.15M. After the recent inflows, AAVE bounced from lows of $116.32 to $132.49.

The main narrative behind Aave is the implementation of tokenomics that will include buybacks. The platform’s new tokenomics may set aside up to $1M for buying back tokens each week. 

As of April 7, the buyback is still at the proposal stage, published for discussion by the Aave community. The first mention of a buyback was made in a widely approved Temp Check in the summer of 2024. Since then, Aave DAO increased its available reserves by 115%. 

Currently, Aave DAO sits on $115M, after achieving growth despite the volatile market conditions. The DAO retains its funds even after financing Aave Labs and paying out the Merit incentives. The fund may provide regular liquidity injections, boosting the presence of Aave. 

The protocol is also in focus for its ubiquity in the crypto lending space. Despite the market slowdown and volatile ETH prices, Aave and other lending protocols remained key to crypto activity. 

Aave had higher baseline activity in Q1, surviving the ETH slide without a major outflow of lenders and borrowers. Aave retains over $16.4B in total value locked. However, in the past day, the protocol retired over $11M of its native stablecoin GHO. The supply of GHO fell from over $211M to $200M as the protocol burned tokens due to lowered demand and liquidations. Recently, the supply of GHO reached an all-time high of over $214.38M.

Ethereum whales move into RWA tokens

Whales also chose assets linked to the RWA tokenization narrative. Around $9.1M flowed into Chainlink (LINK), boosting the asset to $11.52. LINK also bounced from its bottom after crashing into the $10 range. 

LINK remains a relatively accessible asset and a highly active project, with whales expecting a recovery. Other whales bought up Ondo Finance (ONDO), as well as Maker (MKR), betting on the recovery of DeFi tokens. 

DeFi marked the biggest losses for the past 30 days, with most assets erasing over 21% on average.

Based on Alphanomics data, all narratives are staging a recovery, as whales are buying back the tokens. In the past 24 hours, DeFi tokens tracked by Alphanomics had the biggest net gains of 1.9%, potentially starting a recovery trend. 

DeFi tokens as a whole lost 10% of their valuation in the past day. The assets are still valued above $75B, and most are still tied to widely used decentralized ecosystems. During the latest market cycle, DeFi lowered its activity, but avoided panic and contagion by readjusting interest rates and collaterals. DeFi lending remains key for tapping the value of ETH and other assets while freeing up stablecoin liquidity.

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