Why is Aave up today?

Aave is up 4.9% to $153.12 on a product launch: Coinbase's tokenized stocks went live as collateral on Aave V4 on Base. Seven US tech stock tokens — including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla — can now back USDC loans in a dedicated market with a 21 million USDC borrowing cap, with access limited to eligible non-US investors. The move pushes Aave into tokenized equities as collateral, a segment also being tapped by Ethena, which is now backing its roughly $4.9 billion USDe with Binance's bStocks.

The regulatory backdrop is supportive. The SEC issued a clarification of digital asset rules easing token and staking classification, though the agency also confirmed the resignation of Commissioner Hester Peirce, one of crypto's most vocal advocates in Washington.

The move is idiosyncratic rather than market-wide: Bitcoin is down 0.4% over 24 hours at $83,972, while Aave is up 11.5% on the week. Sentiment elsewhere remains fragile after roughly $350 million was drained from wallets labeled as belonging to Bitget.