Grayscale Values AAVE at $175 as Traditional Finance Models Enter DeFi

Grayscale Research believes Aave’s native token could reach $175 under its one year base case scenario, highlighting a growing trend of applying traditional finance valuation models to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

The asset manager estimates Aave could generate around $60 million in net income during 2026 and currently places the token’s fair value between $80 and $100. AAVE was trading near $75 at the time of the analysis.

Strong Revenue Growth Supports Bullish Outlook

According to Grayscale, Aave’s revenue increased more than sixfold between 2023 and 2025, while the protocol operates with an estimated 50% profit margin. The firm said growth in lending activity, the GHO stablecoin and institutional-focused products could further boost earnings.

CoinShares Highlights HYPE and Ether

Grayscale used discounted cash flow models, earnings multiples and comparisons with banks and fintech firms to evaluate Aave. Meanwhile, CoinShares applied similar methods to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and Ether.

Its 2031 base-case valuation places HYPE at $147 and Ether at $4,935. CoinShares noted that 99% of Hyperliquid protocol fees are used to buy back HYPE, creating a direct link between protocol revenue and token value.

The research comes as institutions grow more optimistic about DeFi. Standard Chartered recently projected that tokenized assets could help expand the DeFi market to $2.7 trillion by 2030.