Greetings, Aave community!
March’s update takes a different form. Rather than follow the usual monthly structure, this post focuses exclusively on the Aave V4 and Aave Pro launches and what they represent for the next phase of Aave.
Aave V4
Following the successful governance approval process through the AIP, Aave V4 is now active on Ethereum. This marks a major milestone for Aave and a meaningful one for DeFi more broadly. V4 is a new stage in the protocol’s evolution, with a new protocol architecture designed to expand the range of markets Aave can support while preserving the security, efficiency, and discipline that have defined the protocol to date.
The launch of Aave V4 also concludes a long development cycle built around a security-first process. Across the full program, V4 underwent roughly 345 days of cumulative security review spanning manual audits, formal verification, invariant testing, fuzzing, and a public security contest, backed by a $1.5 million DAO-ratified security budget. That foundation matters because V4 enters production with a level of preparation intended to match the importance of the release.
At the protocol level, Aave V4 introduces the Hub and Spoke architecture. Liquidity is unified at the Hub layer, while Spokes define distinct borrowing environments, controls, and risk boundaries. This allows governance to introduce new markets and features without migrating liquidity, while preserving capital efficiency and enabling stronger separation between different risk profiles.
V4 also introduces mechanisms that materially expand the protocol’s design space. Risk Premiums allow borrowing costs to reflect collateral quality rather than applying uniform rates across all users, while the new liquidation engine replaces the fixed close factor approach with a target health factor model and variable liquidation bonuses. In practice, that means more precise risk pricing, fairer liquidations, and a framework that can support a broader range of collateral and market structures with stronger economic alignment.
Equally important is the rollout philosophy. The initial Ethereum activation has been intentionally conservative. During the first weeks, caps will remain low while the protocol hardens in production and the DAO gathers operating data across liquidity routing, utilization, and credit-line behavior. Growth is expected to follow stability, with parameter expansion occurring as the system matures and governance grows comfortable increasing exposure.
Aave Pro
Aave Pro is now live as the dedicated interface for the Aave V4 era. Rather than fit V4 into legacy interaction patterns, Aave Pro gives the new architecture its own purpose-built surface at pro.aave.com and establishes a dedicated home for DeFi-native users who want deeper visibility and more control. It is the product layer designed to match the protocol’s new structure.
The launch of Aave Pro is also the result of several months of work across frontend, API, SDK, and documentation layers. Recent development updates tracked the progression from core flow implementation and testing, to documentation and SDK alignment, to UI and UX refinement, and broader integrator readiness. Bringing Aave Pro live now means Aave V4 enters the market with a dedicated interface built for how the new system is meant to be used.
Looking Ahead
Taken together, these launches represent more than the release of a new version and a new interface. They establish the next protocol architecture for Aave and the product surface built to expose it properly to users and integrators. The immediate priority now is disciplined execution in production: monitoring live behavior, validating early assumptions, iterating on UX and documentation, and expanding carefully in coordination with risk providers and the DAO.
We invite the community to use Aave V4 and Aave Pro, and to review the supporting materials now available across the Aave V4 documentation, technical documentation, core contracts repository, and Aave V4 SDK. Those resources will remain important reference points as usage grows, integrations deepen, and the system moves through its first phase in production.
Stay tuned for next month’s update.
Aave Labs