Grayscale values Aave token at $175
- Grayscale Research said Aave (CRYPTO:AAVE) could reach US$175 under its one-year base-case valuation scenario.
- The firm estimated Aave could generate about US$60 million in net income during 2026 and placed current fair value between US$80 and US$100.
- Asset managers are increasingly applying traditional finance valuation models to revenue-generating DeFi protocols and crypto assets.
Grayscale Research said Aave (CRYPTO:AAVE) could be worth US$175 under a one-year base-case scenario, using valuation methods commonly applied to banks, fintech companies and listed equities.
The report estimated Aave could generate about US$60 million in net income during 2026 and assigned a current fair value range of US$80 to US$100, compared with a market price of about US$75.
“Aave’s lending activity, GHO stablecoin and institutional products could support future earnings growth,” said Grayscale Research in its report.
Grayscale stated that Aave’s revenue increased more than sixfold between 2023 and 2025 and estimated the protocol operates with margins of around 50%, while noting that protocol revenue does not automatically translate into token-holder value.
The research highlighted that token holders generally do not possess the same legally enforceable claims as equity shareholders, and following the report Aave traded near US$75, below Grayscale’s estimated fair value range.
The analysis follows similar valuation work by CoinShares, which assigned a 2031 base-case valuation of US$147 for Hyperliquid (CRYPTO:HYPE) and US$4,935 for Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) using protocol revenues, buybacks and other economic metrics.
The reports come as financial institutions increase their focus on decentralised finance, with Standard Chartered stating that tokenised assets could help expand the DeFi market to US$2.7 trillion by 2030 and identifying Uniswap (CRYPTO:UNI) as a potential beneficiary of traditional finance adoption.
At the time of reporting, Aave price was $75.83.
