Aave is preparing to close V3 markets across six blockchains simultaneously, winding down $98.1 million in supplied assets and $15.6 million in debt as of July 28, 2026. The latest governance proposal calls for a complete shutdown of operations on Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos.
DeFi risk management service LlamaRisk proposed the move. They recommended offboarding 50 low-volume reserves and 21 mature Pendle principal token listings across 11 different deployments.
A Brief Stint on the Aptos Network
The exit from Aptos stands out as the most notable part of the proposal. Aave is proposing to pull out of the network just 11 months after launching its V3 market there. Data shows that liquidity on Aptos plummeted by 94% over the past six months, leaving Aave’s quarterly revenue at less than $1,000.
The operational status of the six networks also varied before this proposal emerged. Markets on Scroll, zkSync, Metis, and Soneium were already frozen. Scroll was only added to the frozen list through an expedited process last April. Now, LlamaRisk recommends applying a similar freeze to markets on the Sonic and Aptos networks, which are currently still active.
Not a Retreat, but Risk Mitigation
Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that the closures are designed to reduce the protocol’s economic and technical risk surface. The move is not intended as a retreat from cross-chain expansion, but rather a strategic refocus on select protocols deemed more productive.
The Aave community has broadly supported the multi-chain strategy. In a temperature check on December 5, 2025, Aave’s expansion plan garnered 923,400 votes in favor with less than 1% opposition. Clear evidence that this strategy remains active is the launch of an Aave market on the Avalanche network earlier this month.
First Test of the New Risk Framework
The downsizing comes less than two months after Aave published its updated risk framework on June 9. The guidelines outline strict rules for mitigating asset risk, bridge infrastructure, system monitoring, and on-chain vulnerabilities across every network.
Currently, the proposal in Aave Request for Comment (ARFC) format serves as a precursor and must await escalation to an Aave Improvement Proposal (AIP) before heading to a final on-chain vote.
For liquidity providers, the closures signal that in the DeFi space, major protocols will not hesitate to pull support if revenue can no longer cover maintenance costs.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Read also: What Is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
