Aave’s decentralized lending markets recorded $16.362 billion in total value locked (TVL) on Nov. 10, while $11.891 billion in active loans showed how much borrowers had drawn from the system.
The snapshot put Aave at the top of decentralized lending protocols by TVL. The two amounts describe different sides of the activity: TVL values assets included in the markets, while active loans measure funds taken out by borrowers. The ranking and both figures refer to Nov. 10.
Aave V3 runs on blockchain contracts that pool supplied assets for borrowing. People who add an asset to a pool receive a corresponding aToken, which earns interest tied to borrowing activity. The yield can change as pool use rises or falls, and borrowing costs shift with the portion of available liquidity already borrowed.
Standard V3 loans require eligible collateral worth more than the debt. Aave’s health factor gauges how close a position is to liquidation, and a score below 1 makes it eligible. A fall in collateral value or a rise in debt can bring a position nearer to that threshold. A liquidator may cover part of a loan in exchange for discounted collateral.
Pool use also limits suppliers’ ability to retrieve funds. Withdrawals are limited to the unborrowed balance, so a fully borrowed pool leaves suppliers waiting for loan repayments or for new funds to arrive. Collateral rules do not remove all exposure: software bugs, faulty price data and problems involving collateral assets can affect users and their positions.
The TVL figure alone does not establish whether net deposits rose or fell. It is a point-in-time dollar valuation; changing token prices can move it even when token balances do not. EconoTimes has previously explained how TVL rankings can diverge from net deposit changes. The snapshot therefore does not directly measure user flows.
