AaveToken (AAVE) tokenomics

The Aave protocol's economic model is centered around the AAVE token, an ERC-20 utility and governance token. The system is designed to incentivize liquidity, provide a security backstop for the protocol, and decentralize decision-making through a community-governed DAO.

Issuance Mechanism

AAVE has a maximum token supply of 16.00 million. The issuance was primarily handled through a migration from the protocol's original token, LEND (launched in 2017 as ETHLend).

• Migration Ratio: LEND tokenholders migrated to AAVE at a 100:1 ratio (100 LEND = 1 AAVE).
• Initial Minting: 13.00 million AAVE (81.25% of the max supply) was allocated for LEND holders to claim.
• Ecosystem Reserve: The remaining 3.00 million AAVE (18.75%) was minted directly to the Aave Ecosystem Reserve to fund future growth and incentives.
• Current Supply: As of early 2024, the circulating supply is approximately 14.9 million tokens.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial distribution of the 16 million AAVE tokens was structured to prioritize the existing community while establishing a treasury for long-term development.

The Ecosystem Reserve is controlled by AAVE tokenholders and stakers via on-chain governance. It is used to fund the Aave Grants DAO, which provides "Rapid Grants" (under $20,000), "Grants" ($20,000–$80,000), and "Community Grants" (over $80,000) to developers and contributors.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

AAVE serves three primary functions within the ecosystem: governance, staking (security), and collateral.

1. Governance

AAVE is the core of the Aave Governance system. Tokenholders can:

• Create and vote on Aave Improvement Proposals (AIPs).
• Vote on protocol parameters, asset listings, and treasury allocations.
• Delegate their voting or proposition power to other addresses.
• Snapshot Power: At least 1,600 AAVE in voting power is required to create a proposal on Snapshot.

2. Staking and Safety Module

The Safety Module (SM) acts as a "backstop" against Shortfall Events (instances of bad debt or protocol insolvency).

• Mechanism: Users stake AAVE (or ABPT/GHO) into the SM and receive stkAAVE in return.
• Risk: In a Shortfall Event, up to a certain percentage of staked assets can be slashed and sold to cover the protocol's deficit.
• Incentives: As of April 2024, 820.00 AAVE are distributed daily pro-rata to Safety Module stakers as "Safety Incentives" from the Ecosystem Reserve.

3. Protocol Incentives

• Liquidity Mining: Historically, Aave used stkAAVE to incentivize borrowers and suppliers (e.g., 2,200 stkAAVE daily were distributed in 2021). While many V2 incentives have ended, V3 continues to see various incentive programs on networks like Metis, Optimism, and Polygon.
• GHO Stablecoin: AAVE holders receive a discount on the borrowing rate of GHO, Aave's native overcollateralized stablecoin.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

Aave employs a specific locking and "cooldown" architecture for its staking module to prevent rapid capital flight during periods of stress.

• Locking: When AAVE is staked in the Safety Module, it is effectively locked until the user initiates a withdrawal process.
• Cooldown Period: To unstake AAVE, users must first activate a cooldown period. As of April 15, 2024, this period is set to 20 days.
• Unlocking Window: Once the 20-day cooldown concludes, users have a 2-day window to claim and withdraw their tokens.
• Expiration: If the tokens are not claimed within that 48-hour window, the unstaking request expires, and the user must restart the 20-day cooldown period to attempt another withdrawal.

Future Economic Developments

Aave is currently considering a "Fee Switch" proposal. This mechanism would allow the protocol to activate a revenue-sharing model or use protocol fees to buy back AAVE tokens from the secondary market, further evolving the token's value accrual properties.