Standard Chartered Says Aave Could Benefit Most From Tokenized Asset Growth

Standard Chartered has named Aave as a likely winner as tokenized assets start making their way into decentralized finance. The banking giant believes the protocol could reclaim its spot as the top onchain lending platform.

In a research note published Wednesday, Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, said tokenized assets actively used in DeFi could push more deposits into Aave.

Recent Setbacks Are Fading, Bank Says

Aave took a hit earlier this year from falling crypto prices and the fallout of a $292 million cybertheft involving KelpDAO in April, which knocked its lending market share. But Kendrick says both of those headwinds are passing.

At its peak in October 2025, Aave held around $75 billion in deposits enough to rank it alongside the 30th largest US bank by deposits.

Bigger Picture — A $2.7 Trillion Opportunity

This call is part of Standard Chartered’s wider tokenization thesis. The bank previously forecast that assets locked in DeFi could hit $2.7 trillion by 2030, driven by real-world assets moving onchain. Kendrick also flagged Uniswap as a potential trading hub for tokenized markets.