Lucía Peña
Leading DeFi protocol Aave has officially launched its lending markets on Sonic, a high-speed blockchain that evolved from Fantom. This marks Aave’s first Layer 1 expansion of the year, reinforcing its commitment to broadening its multi-chain presence.
The decision to integrate Aave v3 with Sonic came after a successful governance vote, initiated by Aave Chan Initiative, a prominent contributor and delegate within the Aave ecosystem.
Originally known as Fantom, Sonic underwent a major rebranding and officially launched its mainnet in December 2024. The network currently boasts a total value locked (TVL) of over $700 million and introduces an innovative fee monetization model.
This model allows decentralized applications like Aave to earn a share of transaction fees, creating an additional revenue stream.
“Sonic’s unique approach to revenue sharing, combined with its experienced team, presents a strong opportunity for Aave to expand into a rapidly growing, community-driven DeFi landscape,” said Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave Labs.
Liquidity Incentives and Funding Support Aave’s Sonic Launch
To facilitate Aave’s expansion, substantial liquidity incentives have been introduced, including:
- $15 million in funding from the Sonic Foundation
- Up to 50 million Sonic-native $S tokens
- $800,000 in stablecoins from Aave and additional migration incentives
Aave’s Sonic deployment comes shortly after its governance body decided to halt lending operations on the Polygon PoS chain.
The decision stemmed from concerns over Polygon’s pre-PIP proposal to rehypothecate stablecoins via its native bridge—a move that could introduce potential risks. Although Polygon ultimately rejected the pre-PIP, Aave’s governance maintained its stance to discontinue activity on the network.
“Risk management remains a top priority for the Aave community. After thorough discussions in the governance forum, we concluded that the initial concerns were significant enough to justify ending lending operations,” Kulechov told PRIME.
Aave’s Multi-Chain Expansion Continues
Since its Ethereum debut in 2018, Aave has expanded across multiple blockchain ecosystems, including:
- Layer 2 solutions: Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Metis, and Scroll
- Other networks: Avalanche, Gnosis Chain, and BNB Chain
With over $19 billion in total value locked (TVL) across these chains, Aave’s latest move to Sonic solidifies its position as one of DeFi’s most adaptable and forward-thinking protocols.
