Aave whales buy as retail exits after exploit

Aave is showing signs of whale accumulation even as retail users exit following the fallout from the KelpDAO exploit, which left the protocol with an estimated $196 million in bad debt.

The incident triggered a sharp decline in total value locked, with Aave’s TVL falling from $26.39 billion to $15.6 billion as users rotated funds into rival platforms.

“Elevated readings in the ‘Big Whale Orders’ category indicate outsized participation from deep-pocketed buyers, investors who don’t react to noise, but position through it,”

Analyst Moreno said.

On-chain data shows rising spot average order sizes, suggesting larger players are increasing exposure even as sentiment hits its lowest levels since the 2022 bear market.

Historically, similar spikes in whale activity have coincided with local bottoms in AAVE, including during downturns in 2022, 2023 and subsequent corrections.

However, uncertainty remains around whether the pattern will repeat, with AAVE trading between $90 and $100 and broader DeFi sentiment under pressure.

Future price direction may depend on how Aave addresses the bad debt and whether whale accumulation continues in the $85 to $95 range.

At the time of reporting, Aave price was $93.43.