Aave, one of DeFi's largest lending protocols by total value locked, is preparing to wind down its lending deployments across six networks — Scroll, zkSync, Sonic, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos — in a move that affects approximately $98.1 million in aggregate deposits. The proposal targets low-adoption Aave V3 markets and is currently advancing through the protocol's on-chain governance process.

Scope of the Wind-Down

The six networks slated for deprecation span several categories: Ethereum layer-2 rollups (Scroll and zkSync), alternative Layer-1 and Layer-2 chains (Sonic and Metis), the Soneium network, and the non-EVM Aptos deployment. Together, these markets hold deposits that have seen limited usage relative to Aave's broader deposit base, as tracked on the Aave protocol dashboard. The $98.1 million figure represents a small fraction of the protocol's overall TVL, which spans dozens of active deployments across major networks including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Base.

The $98.1 million figure represents a combined total across all six deployments rather than exposure on any single chain. The deprecation is being processed as a low-adoption asset deprecation on Aave V3, according to the ARFC governance thread where the proposal is housed and under discussion.

Implications for Depositors

The proposal's framing centers on deposits rather than token performance or ecosystem metrics, making depositor exposure the primary practical consideration for users on the affected chains. A wind-down of a low-adoption market differs from an immediate shutdown; the governance route typically involves phased steps rather than abrupt closure. Specific mechanics for each of the six networks are being detailed within the same governance discussion.

Because the six deployments operate as separate markets, exposure is distributed chain by chain. Users on Scroll, zkSync, Sonic, Metis, Soneium, or Aptos are advised to review their individual positions rather than assume uniform treatment across every network. For affected depositors, the practical question is whether positions need to be manually unwound or whether the wind-down process will handle repayments and withdrawals automatically — details that the governance thread is expected to clarify on a per-chain basis.

Broader Governance Context

Aave's governance forum has been an active venue for significant balance-sheet decisions. Recent proposals under consideration include a draft plan for Mantle's treasury to lend 30,000 ETH to the Aave DAO, as well as debates over risk settings following arguments that Aave's parameters are too lenient on liquid staking tokens.

The pruning of thinly used markets also comes amid wider corporate interest in the protocol, including reports that Kraken is in talks to acquire a 15% stake in Aave Group. The consolidation away from low-traffic chains echoes a broader industry trend of networks and applications retrenching, as demonstrated when Sophon shut down its L2 to migrate to Base. Maintaining deployments across fragmented chains carries ongoing operational and risk-management costs, and DeFi protocols that expand aggressively during bull markets routinely reassess which integrations justify continued support.

The proposal's precise timeline and per-chain execution steps will be determined through the Aave governance vote before any deployment is formally retired.