Aave's AAVE token climbed toward $190 at the start of October as trading activity surged, with futures volume topping $1 billion and short liquidations reinforcing the advance, according to a report from Blockonomi.

The token traded near $185–$186 on Oct. 2 after gaining approximately 13% in 24 hours and more than 26% over seven days. Futures volume reached roughly $1.09 billion, while open interest — the total value of active derivatives contracts — climbed to about $535 million.

AAVE is the governance token of Aave, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol that lets users supply and borrow crypto assets. That structure makes protocol-level developments, such as deposit growth and new deployments, directly relevant alongside the price action.

Aave V4 Deposits Cross $1 Billion

The surge in market activity coincided with continued protocol growth. Aave Labs reported that Aave V4 passed $1 billion in deposits during September. Deposits represent the capital users place into the protocol's lending markets, so the milestone serves as a usage gauge alongside price and volume. The lending protocol also expanded to Arc and Base during the month, widening access across new markets and giving traders a fundamental development to track alongside the recent price increase.

The Base deployment added an Equities Hub for tokenized stocks. Eligible users can pledge tokenized Coinbase equities as collateral for USDC loans, connecting Aave's lending markets with the growing sector for onchain versions of traditional assets.

Buybacks and Burn Discussion Shape Supply

Aave DAO continues to operate its token buyback program with a $50 million annual budget. Weekly purchases can range from $250,000 to $1.75 million depending on market conditions, reducing the circulating supply available to sellers during periods of stronger demand.

Recent discussion of a possible burn mechanism has introduced another supply-related factor. Unlike buybacks, which purchase tokens from the open market, a burn would permanently remove tokens from circulation, though no formal burn proposal or schedule exists at this time.

Separately, Base activated its Cobalt upgrade on Sept. 30, adding new transaction controls and asset management features to the network.

Short Liquidations Accelerate the Rally

Derivatives data pointed to mounting pressure on bearish positions. AAVE recorded approximately $3.82 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with shorts accounting for around $3.26 million of the total. Liquidations occur when leveraged positions can no longer meet margin requirements and are closed automatically; rising prices forced some short sellers to close their positions, generating additional buying pressure during the advance.

Open interest climbed to about $535 million as futures activity increased, indicating that more capital entered active derivatives positions. The combination of rising prices, elevated volume, and short liquidations helped strengthen the latest move toward the $190 level.

Price Approaches Key Resistance

AAVE has well above its major daily moving averages after recovering from about $120 in September. Trading volume rose alongside the breakout, while the relative strength index (RSI), a momentum indicator traders commonly use to flag stretched conditions, moved closer to overbought territory. Broader interest in tokenized equity markets remains part of the overall market backdrop.

The token has gained more than 100% over the past 90 days. The next immediate resistance level sits near $190, followed by $200 if buying continues. On the downside, traders are watching the $170–$175 zone, the former breakout area, as Aave tests whether demand holds. Beyond the chart, developments to track include whether the burn discussion advances into a formal governance proposal and how activity develops across the new Arc and Base deployments.