Aave is a DeFi protocol that established itself as one of the leading lending and borrowing protocols on the Ethereum network. As a result, investors have sought to buy AAVE as the protocol has attracted a high network capital. In late March 2022 the AAVE token pumped back above $200, rallying over 30% in a day.
If it found a bottom, now could be a good time to invest for its next bull cycle. This guide covers where to invest in Aave on secure regulated platforms.
How to Buy Aave – Quick Steps
Investors who want to get exposure to Aave and its growing ecosystem can do so through a broker account in four easy steps.
- Step 1: Open an account with the platform you pick – Go to the broker’s official website, select “Join Now,” fill in your details and select “Create Account” to complete the sign-up process.
- Step 2: Deposit – Tap on “Deposit Funds” in the lower-left corner, fill in the amount you want to deposit, select your preferred deposit method, and click on deposit.
- Step 3: Search for Aave – Click the search bar at the top of the page, type in Aave, and select “Trade” to open the trading channel.
- Step 4: Buy – Add the amount you want to invest in Aave in the price section and click on “Open Trade” to finalize the trade and obtain your Aave tokens.
Where to Buy Aave
As a pioneering DeFi protocol, its native token is available on almost every popular cryptocurrency exchange. If you want to buy AAVE like a pro, you need to consider which exchange has the best offer when considering fees, deposit options, security, and exchange liquidity.
Aave has a total value locked (TVL) of $11.35 billion and is a top 3 DeFi protocol by TVL. The metric indicated users trust the protocol’s security and translate to more exchanges offering opportunities for users to invest in Aave. With so many exchanges offering AAVE as an investment, we reviewed some of the best options for you to get exposure to Aave and decrease decision fatigue.
1. Crypto.com – All-in-one platform for buying and staking AAVE.
Crypto.com became a widely accepted cryptocurrency exchange once crypto had been normalized by our culture. Crypto.com is an all-in-one cryptocurrency exchange because its platform unlocks every crypto trading opportunity.
Traders can get exposure to over 250 cryptocurrencies while at the same time getting exposure to DeFi, where they generate passive income without having to go outside the platform. Users can get up to 14.5% interest on stablecoins if they keep their tokens on Crypto.com.
Crypto.com is among the first platforms which tries to tie centralized user behavior to cryptocurrency and allow users to spend their coins. The platform has partnered with Visa, offering users the possibility of spending their crypto assets and obtaining up to 8% cashback on their expenses. Of course, the cashback varies depending on the asset.
The platform is integrating more blockchain native functions to Crypto.com. For example, users can access the NFT market, swap tokens, or earn yields by staking AAVE. Thus, Crypto.com turns into a one-stop-shop for every crypto need.
In terms of fees, Crypto.com has a tier system. The more users trade on the platform, the lower the fees become. A level 1 tier starts with a 0.4% fee for the maker and the taker, and the fees gradually decrease if trading volumes increase.
Pros
- Cash back cards
- All-in-one crypto platform
- Earn interest on crypto
Cons
- Cash back rewards paid only in CRO
- High fees for credit card purchase
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
2. Coinbase – A popular platform to buy AAVE
Coinbase is steadily becoming the flagship cryptocurrency exchange for crypto beginners. Coinbase is the only cryptocurrency dedicated exchange that has launched an IPO breaking the stigma of crypto in the U.S.
As a publicly traded company, Coinbase is a transparent company. Coinbase also acts as a custodian service for emerging trust funds, including Grayscale, which has also applied to the SEC to change their crypto trust to a spot ETF. This means that liquidity on Coinbase is not an issue especially considering the platform is regulated in most jurisdictions where users can trade it.
Coinbase also has a first-mover advantage. The platform has a simple-to-use interface, and unlike crypto-only exchange, it has a somewhat limited number of tokens available for trade. Users can make deposits using their credit cards, and they can also use Apple Pay or Google Pay to deposit FIAT.
The focus of Coinbase is both retail and institutional investors. Coinbase caters to novice traders who are just getting started with crypto because the platform offers user-friendly trading tools.
Pros
- Highly secure platform
- Educational investment resources
- Low deposit limit
- Listed on the NASDAQ exchange
Cons
- Higher fees for lower deposits
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
3. Binance – Leading crypto platform to invest in AAVE and other DeFi protocols.
Binance is the most liquid exchange on the market, with a high trading variety. Binance is the number one trading platform by daily trading volume as it provides traders with more exciting trading opportunities.
Founded by Changpeng Zhao in China in 2017, Binance relocated outside of China after introducing a law banning cryptocurrency exchange. So even though users must complete a KYC, Binance is only partly regulated. That is why Binance offers trading options such as derivatives, futures, or margin trading to their users.
Users can deposit using national deposit options or use a credit/debit card. Binance also developed its blockchain (Binance Smart Chain) with its native cryptocurrency Binance Coin(BNB). Unlike previously reviewed exchanges, users can deposit crypto from multiple chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, or TRON.
Pros
- High liquidity exchange
- Margin and futures trading
- Wide range of cryptos
- Access to NFTs
Cons
- Not regulated by a financial authority
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
What is Aave?
Aave is an Ethereum based protocol that provides financial opportunities for cryptocurrency users. The protocol became popular as users started to engage with DeFi during the summer of 2020.
Aave is a decentralized finance protocol that allows users to interact with financial products without interacting with third parties. Aave allows users that have cryptocurrencies to borrow or lend crypto. Every interaction occurs with ERC-20 token standards.
The idea of the protocol was formed in 2017 and first pitched to investors through an initial coin offering or ICO. During the crowdfunding phase, Aave, which was previously titled ETHLend, sold a total of $16.2 million worth of their native token LEND – 1 billion total tokens. In 2018, the platform renamed itself AAVE while also transforming the protocol network approach.
At its core, Aave is a non-custodial liquidity protocol that took the blockchain industry by storm in 2020 after it revolutionized the notion of decentralized finance. Users can use Aave to borrow or lend ERC-20 compatible currencies through a lending pool. Unlike traditional finance, where banks request collateral for lending money, users deposit their cryptocurrencies as collateral.
Aave is a for-profit organization but is has implemented a decentralized autonomous organization governance model. Thus, token holders govern and guide the protocol by voting using AAVE tokens.
The innovation introduced by Aave is the liquidity pool. Users deposit their assets into liquidity pools and obtain yearly interest on their deposits. In turn, the protocol lends out tokens from the pool while paying interest. Thus, participants in the ecosystem are don’t have to interact with any other third party. Aave creates a peer-to-peer system enforced via Ethereum smart contracts.
One of Aave’s main features is flash loans, where users are not required to provide Liquidity. Instead, the protocol’s function only works if the Liquidity is returned in the same block. This has enabled more networks to use Aave’s open-source as a foundation for offering users with swapped Liquidity. It’s a form of DeFi related arbitrage trading where users can make instant trades within the block’s frame while profiting from price fluctuations.
The total value locked on Aave is $11.17 billion, while the network holds total Liquidity of $18 billion. While DeFi has shifted away from Ethereum due to high network fees, AAVE is still a top 3 network by TVL. Even though the interest paid on deposits is lower than other protocols, Aave guarantees risk-free crypto lending and staking.
Is AAVE a Good Investment?
To eliminate decision biases, insights into the protocols underlying function can indicate if you should buy AAVE now or wait until the market retraces even further. We believe AAVE could be a good investment opportunity because it transformed how users interact with financial products and offers an alternative product.
First mover advantage.
It’s not surprising that Aave is a top DeFi coin by TVL with a total liquidity capital of $18 billion. Aave has a first-mover advantage that conveys trust by providing low-risk passive income. Even though the yield provided to lenders on the platform is much lower, the protocol attracts larger investors, attracting more institutional capital as the DeFi sector matures.
DeFi adoption
DeFi is still in the initial development stages. However, the blockchain sector passed its initial hype phase, and the idea behind decentralized finance is starting to take shape as individuals continue to lose trust in traditional financial institutions. The next five years will lead to more DeFi adoption globally. As crypto becomes normalized, users will see the value in using DeFi for their financial needs, increasing regulation and adoption for institutions and possible governments.
First Uncollateralized Loans
Aave pioneered the DeFi space after creating the first uncollateralized loan option. As a result, traders in the space are offered more trading liquidity to expand their trades and possibly bank on some profit.
Upcoming upside potential
As the crypto market cooled down, retail traders have shifted towards risk-free assets. Even so, the price of AAVE is by more than 200% since its starting price. If retail mania kicks bank in, and users start to deploy cash to innovative projects like Aave or other DeFi protocols, AAVE’s price could pass its previous all-time high of $666.86, and that’s a 600% profit margin.
Passive Income
Aave offers traders the possibility of generating passive income. Users can borrow through Aave and allocate their new capital to other protocols, yielding additional profits. Aave is a gateway to the DeFi space because it provides additional capital for yield farms. In addition, AAVE token holders can stake their assets and increase their holdings without risking any of their portfolios.
Low Ethereum Fees
DeFi was pioneered on the Ethereum network, leading to the start of the DeFi summer in 2020 when AAVE or CURVE spiked the interest for a more transparent financial model. DeFi migrated to other Layer 1s or Layer 2s protocols due to high network fees. With Ethereum 2.0 expected to merge by 2022, Aave will soon lure new users, even though now, with the current high gas fees, Aave still offers profitable lending and borrowing.
Aave Price
The price of AAVE has not decoupled from Bitcoin. Instead, Bitcoin is still trading sideways, directly influencing the possibility for altcoins such as AAVE to push towards the upside. At the time of writing, AAVE was trading at $121.86, down by roughly 80% since its all-time high in May 2021, when the price of AAVE reached $631 as retail mania ripped through the market.
AAVE is up by 1.8% in the past 24 hours; however, the price is still down by 13.8% in the past 14 days. The relative Relative Strength Index (RSI) is yet to pass by bearish sentiment and is still below the 40-mark. Still, investors are considering the current price range as a bottom, and users should buy AAVE coin in this range. Data shows that Aave has registered a record number of new users in the past nine months, which mirrors an increase in platform deposits.
Aave price prediction
The narrative shift prompted investors to exit most of their DeFi position and jump on the NFT and metaverse trend. If we looked at the token’s previous price action when interest in DeFi was high, we could place our Aave price prediction above its previous all-time high of $630.
Aave’s current market cap is in the range of $1.6 billion with a fully diluted value of $1.9 billion, showing a lot of upside potential in the long term. Experts predict the price of AAVE could reach $5274.25 by 2030 and smash its previous all-time high as crypto will enter a new adoption phase.
In the short term, we can expect AAVE to trade in the $198.52 range, especially if Bitcoin continues to move sideways.
Ways of Buying Aave
The benefit of crypto adoption is that it has decreased the complexities of purchasing crypto. So if you want to know how to buy AAVE crypto using traditional payment forms, when here are a few options that can get you started:
Buy Aave with PayPal
PayPal is a millennial-friendly platform that allows users to instantly transfer funds between friends or securely pay for services/products. Now PayPal has enabled a function where platform users can get exposure to cryptocurrencies and use them to make payments. But if you’re looking to invest in crypto on PayPal, that’s not entirely possible because PayPal has limited options available.
Buy Aave with credit card or debit card
Everybody has a credit debit card. More people are relying on their cards to make payments. However, not every cryptocurrency exchange offers dual deposit options. If you want to invest in Aave using a credit card, you have to consider the credit card fees regular crypto exchanges charge for deposits.
Best Aave Wallet
Reliable crypto wallets are essential parts of the crypto trading business because they ensure your assets are kept safe. You can find two different categories of crypto wallets. Hot wallets are software wallets that are always connected to the internet and present some form of risk when storing large amounts of AAVE. Cold wallets, on the other hand, are not connected to the internet. Data is stored on a USB and is often retrieved when connected to the internet.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have created a hot and cold wallet storage system allowing users to displace a small share to their active trading account while keeping most of their AAVE savings in cold storage.
Conclusion
The AAVE protocol is an industry favorite, and could be considered as a great long-term investment because it provides alternatives to centralized financial products on a trusted network.