Summary
LlamaRisk supports Aave’s deployment on Aptos, a non-EVM layer 1 blockchain built on the Move programming language. Aptos provides a resource-oriented framework with unique features like parallel transaction execution and bytecode verification, offering potential advantages for scalability and security. Its current TVL is $958.6M, with over 80% concentrated in lending markets. The recent integration of native USDT and USDC has fueled stablecoin adoption, which accounts for 86% of the network’s assets. While liquidity remains fragmented between native and bridged assets, improvements are underway, positioning Aptos as a growing hub for stablecoin activity.
Aptos uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus with 149 validators and a minimum staking requirement of 1M APT (~$5.6M). This introduces centralization risks due to limited validator diversity and geographic concentration (55% in Europe). Additionally, Aptos penalizes underperforming validators through a missed rewards system instead of slashing, raising concerns about accountability. Despite these challenges, the network is supported by a $1 million bug bounty program and robust growth initiatives, including partnerships with TradFi giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton and a $200 million ecosystem grants program.
Aave’s deployment on Aptos could significantly enhance the network’s liquidity and lending market development. Aave’s proven ability to deepen liquidity and attract users was demonstrated on Sonic, where TVL increased by 40% within three weeks of deployment. Liquid staking tokens (LSTs) also present a growth opportunity for Aptos, as only 8.1%% of APT’s supply is in LSTs compared to 76% directly staked with validators. By integrating LSTs as collateral, Aave could unlock additional TVL and lending potential.
LlamaRisk suggests onboarding USDC, USDT, APT, and sUSDe to support the deployment, prioritizing native stablecoins due to reduced dependency risks. While risks related to validator centralization and Move’s relative novelty persist (available toolings and Aave technical adaptations), Aptos’ scalability, growing DeFi ecosystem, and institutional focus make it a promising platform for Aave.
1. Network Fundamental Characteristics
1.1 Network Architecture
Aptos is a layer 1 Proof of Stake network built on the Move programming language, characterized by its resource-oriented architecture, parallel execution engine, and differentiated bytecode verification model. The distributed nodes and smart contract framework that comprise the blockchain aim to increase speed, security, and scalability for low transaction costs. The network mainnet launched in October 2022.
Source: Aptos Transaction Flow, Aptos
Aptos transactions and contract interactions are facilitated by a set of nodes and components, including a Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) based consensus model and Move Virtual Machine (MoveVM). The general lifecycle of an Aptos transaction:
- Transaction submission
- 1.1. An Aptos Client constructs a transaction signed by an account’s private key
- 1.2. Signed transactions include the transaction data (e.g., address, payload, gas price, expiration time), the account’s public key, and signature.
- Accepting the transaction
- 2.1. The Client submits the transaction to the REST service of an Aptos fullnode. The node forwards to its own Mempool, which then sends to other fullnode Mempools. The Validator fullnode mempool eventually sends the transaction to a validator node (lead validator).
- 2.2. The Validator’s mempool validates the transaction using the VM (signature and account balance verification).
- Sharing the transaction
The transactions held in validator mempools are shared with other validators through the shared-mempool protocol. - Proposing the block
A validator chosen as Consensus leader for an epoch (see Consensus model section for more details) proposes a block of transactions from its mempool to other validator nodes via its consensus component. The leader coordinates an agreement on the order of transactions. - Executing the block and reaching consensus
- 5.1. The proposed block is shared with the Execution component, which manages execution within the VM. This occurs before a consensus has been reached
- 5.2. The executed transactions in the block are appended to the Merkle accumulator (an append-only Merkle tree that Aptos uses to store the ledger).
- 5.3. The results of the speculative execution are returned to the consensus component. The Consensus Leader then attempts to reach an agreement on these block results from sufficient validator nodes
- Committing the block
If enough validators approve and sign off on the results, the Consensus Leader’s execution component retrieves the speculative execution data and permanently records all the block’s transactions in persistent storage.
For a full breakdown of transaction stages, see Aptos docs here. Overall, Aptos follows an established EVM POS pattern.
1.1.2 Programming Language
The Move language uses a resource-oriented programming framework that treats assets as unique and indivisible properties. Assets are represented as or within resources. The behavior of resources is predefined, requiring explicit duplicate and delete permissions at the bytecode level (using copy or drop)
Access control rules for accounts and modules (libraries or programs) in Move include:
- Module access is limited to public functions that other modules can interact with.
- Creating, accessing, and changing fields is only possible with modules directly defining the structure. Other modules can only do so if public functions.
- Accounts require signer approval to add resources to an account; modules may also require additional signer presence to access resources or modify assets in the account.
Resources (therefore, assets) and module functions have more predetermined behaviors and access measures than EVM.
Asset Standards
Aptos provides two standards for fungible tokens, similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, a legacy Coin standard and a newer Fungible Asset Standard.
The Digital Asset (DA) standard is the NFT standard for Aptos.
1.1.3 Nodes
Source: Validator node components, Aptos Docs
The node components and inter-component interactions that were mentioned in section 1.1 include:
- REST API service: External interface that clients interact with to access storage or other components; requests are filtered
- Mempool: In-memory buffer of submitted transactions pending consensus and execution. Distributed between nodes and checks validity.
- Consensus: Block ordering component that enables nodes to participate in the consensus protocol with other validators of executed transactions. This component is turned off in fullnodes (see types of nodes below).
- Execution: Transactions are executed using the virtual machine, and results are maintained within the component until consensus commits the block to the network ledger. (see section 1.1.5 for more details) .
- Virtual Machine: Runs verification checks on transactions, executes transactions, and runs Move program within embedded transactions.
- Storage: Local database component of committed blocks of transactions and execution results.
- State synchronizer: The component is used to stay up to date with the latest state of the blockchain
Types of nodes
Source: Node Networks and Synchronization, Aptos Docs
Aptos network hierarchy of nodes (see section 1.1 on transaction overview):
- Validator nodes (VNs): participate in consensus and process transactions. Validator nodes are the only node type that runs the distributed consensus protocol.
- Validator full nodes (VFNs): Update the state of the blockchain, run by the validator operator, and serve requests from public full nodes. Ostensibly operates like a public fullnode.
- Public fullnodes (PFNs): Syncs with VFNs or other update PFNs to gain low-latency access to the chain state.
- Archival nodes (ANs): Fullnodes that contain all blockchain data since the start of the blockchain’s history.
1.1.4 Consensus Protocol
Source: Consensus component, Aptos Docs
AptosBFT coordinates validators to determine the ordering and acceptance of transactions. Based on Jolteon, the Byzantine Fault Tolerance model determines how many validators operating incorrectly (e.g., offline or malicious) can be tolerated for a system to continue operating. (typically a ⅓ threshold)
Under this model, a single Validator is selected as a consensus leader, with other nodes communicating with the leader. A quorum of votes must be reached for consensus to pass (n-f votes, where ‘n’ is the total number of nodes and ‘f’ is the maximum number of malicious nodes). The validator leader is selected based on a deterministic formula based on a validator’s reputation determined by the Validator’s performance and their staked APT.
A leader is selected for an epoch; a new one is selected. An Aptos epoch is currently set to 7200 seconds/2 hours (duration is determined by onchain governance, potentially unlimited). The selection algorithm ensures that inactive or slow nodes have a lower chance of being selected as a leader, reducing the possibility of network degradation.
Risk considerations
Validators may be left in a validator set but cannot exit due to an epoch reconfiguration not occurring, creating stale/inactive validators (potentially affecting network performance). The team indicated this was an unlikely risk, with a fix possible with a reconfiguration transaction sent to these validators.
Validators
Validator staking is public, with a minimum stake required to join the validator set is 1M APT ($5.6M as of 3/20/25) and a maximum of 50M APT. Slashing is currently not enabled on the network. Instead, a missed rewards system is in place to penalize underperforming validators. Based on discussions in the community forum, slashing is unlikely to be implemented soon.
Voting weights for validators are proportional to their staked amount. Rewards are distributed solely to validator leaders, calculated based on a rewards_rate, staked amount, and proposer performance in the Aptos governance.
Validators can unlock their staked assets at any time, with APT becoming withdrawable after a fixed lockup period expires. Lockups can last as long as the fixed lockup duration. Fixed lockup is determined by Aptos governance.
Risk considerations
Aptos has set a high minimum threshold for validators relative to Ethereum (32 ETH). This centralization risk, coupled with how lead validators are selected, creates a small pool of validators, with highly staked validators having an advantage in being chosen to lead consensus more often than others.
Currently, there are 149 validator nodes distributed between 23 countries; the majority are based in Europe. While the number of validators is low relative to Ethereum, node performance as measured by ‘reward performance’ (% of reward earned by the Validator out of the maximum reward earning opportunity), i.e., proposal success rate, the majority of scores observed ranged between 95 - 100% (with 91.93% as the lowest score).
1.1.5 Virtual Machine
Source: Virtual Machine component, Aptos docs
Aptos leverages the Move VM to verify bytecode, execute transaction scripts, and produce execution results to update the blockchain state. Move VM transactions differ from EVM transactions by embedding scripts in transactions rather than relying on pre-deployed smart contracts.
The virtual machine component runs Move scripts in each transaction to determine execution results, verifying transactions from the mempool (e.g., signature and program) and executing transactions from the execution component.
Transactions on Aptos are executed in parallel, with multiple transactions handled simultaneously. As of December 2024, Aptos blocks closed on average within 250ms.
Key technical features enabled by Virtual Machine include:
- Bytecode Verification: A safety mechanism that verifies if bytecode adheres to security and correctness standards before running. The process includes type checking, resource usage analysis, and program form assessment.
- Block-STM: A parallel execution engine within the execution component developed by the Aptos Labs team.
The verification processes include layers of protection against malformed code. Malicious or bad code must be intentionally created, as the compiler does not produce malformed programs by default. Checks are performed during publication and loading to ensure Move standards are maintained. Lastly, an additional run-time “paranoid” mode checks to catch bytecode that may have evaded detection.
1.1.6 EVM Comparison
| Feature | EVM | Move VM |
|---|---|---|
| Data Storage | Data is stored in the smart contract’s storage space. | Data is stored across smart contracts, user accounts, and objects. |
| Parallelization | Parallel execution is limited due to shared storage space. | More parallel execution enabled due to flexible split storage design. |
| VM and Language Integration | Separate layers for EVM and smart contract languages (e.g., Solidity). | Seamless integration between VM layer and Move language, with native Rust functions executable in Move. |
| Critical Network Operations | Implementation of network operations can be complex and less direct. | Critical operations (e.g., validator set management) natively implemented in Move for direct execution. |
| Function Calling | Dynamic dispatch allows for arbitrary smart contract calls. | Static dispatch aligns with a focus on security and predictable behavior. |
| Type Safety | Contract types provide a level of type safety. | Module structs and generics in Move offer robust type safety. |
| Transaction Safety | Uses nonces for transaction ordering and safety. | Uses sequence numbers for transaction ordering and safety. |
| Authenticated Storage | Yes, with smart contract storage. | Yes, leveraging Move’s resource model. |
| Object Accessibility | Objects are not globally accessible; bound to smart contract scope. | Guaranteed global accessibility of objects. |
Source: Comparing EVM and Move VM, Aptos Docs
1.1.7 Value Proposition
- Chain Throughput
Widely adopted by chains such as Polygon and Starknet, the execution engine supports complex, high-frequency operations and offers improved throughput (up to 32,000 TPS). - Resource Architecture
Assets defined uniquely with predefined behaviors (from approved accounts) offer the advantages of reduced errors and the risk of duplications relative to EVM variables in accounts. - Verification Layers
Embedded security measures in bytecode verification would provide a layer of security for asset deployments on Aave, reducing reliance on audits and smart contract risk related to common EVM vulnerabilities such re-entrancy attacks and integer overflows. - Diversification
A potential first deployment to a non-EVM chain allows Aave to expand its capabilities outside EVMs. Introducing a new ecosystem enables Aave to diversify into other languages and broaden the protocol’s technical possibilities.
Risk considerations
Risks and concerns include the Move language’s relative novelty, limited developer support, and less mature tooling, which may affect long-term reliability and integration. Additionally, the absence of slashing and reliance on a missed rewards system could weaken validator accountability and network stability.
Aptos is developing tools to help developers write, test, and deploy smart contracts on the network with IDE plugins, debug tools, and testing frameworks.
1.1.8 Bug bounty
Aptos has a $1 million bug bounty program live on HackenProof, covering the aptos-core repository in its scope. Aptos code has been audited by Certik, with its current security audit partners including Zellic, MoveBit, OtterSec, and Halborn.
Aave Labs has been testing v3 on testnet and working closely with the Aptos team and other stakeholders such as auditors and Chainlink.
1.2 Decentralization and Legal Evaluation
The global validator node distribution for Aptos:
Aptos’ geographical stake distribution spans 27 countries and 57 cities, with 55.7% in Europe, 19.5% in Asia, 22.8% across North America, and 2% across the Rest of the World, indicating a high concentration of nodes in Europe.
The network features validator nodes for consensus participation, validator full nodes (VFNs) for data distribution to validators, and public full nodes (PFNs) accessible to anyone for indexing, querying, and APIs.
Source: Aptos Governance Proposal Flowchart, Aptos
Aptos community members can actively participate in governance by using their stake to create and vote on proposals. Onchain governance can change all network configurations, including:
- Blockchain parameters, e.g., epoch durations, reward rate, gas schedule, and min/max validator stake.
- Change core blockchain code.
- Upgrade or change Aptos modules, e.g., fix bugs, change functionality.
- Introduce new framework modules.
The aptos_governance module outlines how users can interact with governance. Anyone can enact a proposal that has passed voting using the Aptos governance execute-proposal command from Aptos CLI.
Proposals (AIPs) are posted and discussed within the community, with a voting period lasting 72 hours. A minimum participation threshold of 400M APT is required to proceed with a proposal. However, a governance proposal is currently being voted on to lower the threshold to 300M APT (~35%). Some notable proposals include new SDK development and delegation for operators.
Visibility in the number of unique addresses turning out to vote is low with only the level of participation, i.e., percentage of total supply, displayed on the governance portal.
Legal Commentary
Ecosystem development is entrusted to the Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs. The Foundation is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands and maintains aptosfoundation.org and aptos.dev as informational resources. Any authority over the Aptos Network—including oversight of on-chain activity and data, the validation of network transactions, and any actions taken by developers and users—is not vested in the Foundation. Indeed, the Foundation expressly disclaims control or responsibility concerning these functions.
Aptos Labs, subjected to the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law, and the laws of the State of California as indicated in the Terms’ Governing Law provision, is responsible for operating aptoslabs.com and graffio.art, as well as providing the Aptos Explorer, various APIs, SDKs, code repositories, dApp templates, smart contracts, and other developer resources. This also includes certain components of Aptos Keyless and the Aptos Learn platform. Like the Foundation, Aptos Labs disclaims any direct authority over the Aptos Network.
Notwithstanding these disclaimers, the Terms of Service for aptosfoundation.org and aptoslabs.com state that “Aptos is not offered to anyone who is a ‘Restricted Person’”. Under these Terms, an individual or entity is deemed a Restricted Person is subject to sanctions administered or enforced by any government or if appearing on any list of prohibited or restricted parties, including those maintained by the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. Government, the European Union or its Member States, or other relevant governmental authorities. These restrictions also encompass any citizen, organization, or resident in a territory subject to comprehensive sanctions, such as Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, Iran, or Syria.
Censorship controls may be implemented by specific projects built atop Aptos. However, the underlying network does not provide or enforce system-wide freeze functionality.
1.3 Activity Benchmarks
Source: Aptos TVL & Stablecoin Market Cap, DeFiLlama, April 16th, 2025
The current TVL for Aptos stands at $958.6M, down from its ATH of $1.3B on December 17th, 2024. The stablecoin market cap doubled in December to $660M after the announcement of native USDT and USDC support. Since this initial spike in stablecoins, the market cap has steadily risen to $1.07B.
Lending Markets (as of April 16th, 2025)
| Protocol | TVL | Total Supply | Total Borrow | Utilization | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries Markets | $342M | $545M | $326M | 59.8% | 11 |
| Echelon Market | $187M | $285.5M | $81.5M | 28.5% | 24 |
| Thala CDP | $16.3M | $13.9M | $586K | 4.2% | 10 |
| Meso Finance | $23.4m | $102M | $78.35M | 76.8% | 16 |
| Superposition | $14.2M | $31.8M | $12.3M | 38.7% | 17 |
| Aptin Finance | $13.7M | $24.5M | $10M | 40.8% | 12 |
| Echo Protocol | $207.4M | $226.1M | $19.9M | 8.8% | 5 |
| Joule Finance | $4.7M | $16.7M | $8.5M | 50.9% | 13 |
The lending markets represent a combined TVL of roughly $808.7M, an 84.4% share of the network’s TVL.
2. Network Market Outlook
2.1 Market Infrastructure
Source: Top 10 DeFi Projects on Aptos by TVL, DeFiLlama, April 16th, 2025.
There are a total of 43 DeFi projects on Aptos. The top projects category-wise with TVL (volume for aggregators):
- Lending: (see section 1.3.)
- DEXs: ThalaSwap ($76.5M), Cellana Finance (40.8M), LiquidSwap ($18.6M), PancakeSwap ($10.2M), Sushi ($8.3M), Hyperion ($7.2M), Panora (Aggregator), Kana (Aggregator)
- Liquid Staking: Amnis Finance ($186.7M), Thala LSD ($51.1M), TruStake ($48.6M)
- Restaking: Echo ($3.6M)
- RWA: Ondo Finance ($7.6M), Blackrock BUIDL, Franklin Templeton BENJI, Securitize $ACRED
- Derivatives: Merkle Trade ($5.7M), Econia ($1.3M), Thetis Perps ($0.7M)
Tooling
Aptos is supported by leading bridging solutions, including LayerZero, Wormhole Bridge, Celer, Echo Bridge, Meson, Mover, Circle CCTP, and GALNT.
A total of 25 wallet providers are available, the prominent ones being Petra (by Aptos Labs), Bitget Wallet, OKX Wallet, and MSafe (multisig). Petra Wallet features Coinbase Pay and MoonPay, providing users with fiat on/off-ramp.
Additionally, RPC node services are provided by Ankr, BlockPI, and Chainstack. Pyth Network, Chainlink, and Switchboard are the oracle providers for Aptos.
2.2 Liquidity Landscape
Stablecoin
The stablecoin distribution on Aptos is as follows (as of April 17th, 2025):
- Tether USDT: $1.13B
- Circle USDC: $283.7M
- LayerZero lzUSDC (Circle endorsed): $27.3M
- LayerZero lzUSDT: $8.5M
- Wormhole whUSDC: $6M
- Wormhole whUSDT: $4.4M
The bridged variants are slowly fading since USDT and USDC are now natively available on Aptos, reducing dependency risks on third-party bridges and liquidity fragmentation. Native USDC will likely gain more adoption on Aptos as CCTP has been enabled for bridging. Additionally, Ethena recently launched on Aptos, allowing USDe and sUSDe integrations. The market cap of sUSDe on Aptos currently sits at $106.3M.
DEXs
Top 10 LPs by TVL across Aptos (as of April 17th, 2025):
| DEX | Pools | TVL | 24h Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thala Swap | sUSDe/USDC | $24.6M | $230.4K |
| Cellana | amAPT/APT | $10.8M | $256.7K |
| Thala Swap | USDC/USDT | $16.3M | $8.3M |
| Thala Swap | APT/thAPT | $8.9M | $66.6K |
| Cellana | aBTC/APT | $7.9M | $624.7K |
| Cellana | TruAPT/APT | $6.9M | $0.0 |
| LiquidSwap | amAPT/APT | $5.6M | $50.7K |
| Thala Swap | APT/USDC | $7.3M | $2.3M |
| LiquidSwap | USDC/APT | $5.9M | $389K |
| Thala Swap | APT/USDT | $5M | $1.5M |
Source: Panora, April 16th, 2025. USDC & USDT swaps against APT within <5% slippage.
While USDC and USDT are natively available on Aptos, liquidity remains fragmented between bridged variants. This is reflected in the low liquidity of both native USDC ($1.09M) and USDT ($1.15M) relative to available chain supply ($283.7M and $1.13B, respectively).
Source: Panora, April 16th, 2025. APT & sUSDe swaps within <7.5% slippage.
Despite its recent launch, a promising sign for Aptos is the high supply of sUSDe at 91M ($106.3M). DEX liquidity within 7.5% price impact is high at 11.1M.
Bridges
Source: Aptos Bridged TVL Breakdown, DeFiLlama, April 17th, 2025.
Bridged TVL Breakdown:
| Description | Asset | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Echo Bridge | aBTC | $211.8M |
| LayerZero | lzUSDC | $27.3M |
| lzSBTC | $67.7M | |
| lzUSDT | $8.5M | |
| lzWETH | $4.7M | |
| lzWBTC | $5.8M | |
| Wormhole Bridge | whUSDC | $5.9M |
| whSOL | $5.8M | |
| whUSDT | $4.4M | |
| whWBTC | $3.1M | |
| whWETH | $1.4M | |
| Celer | ceUSDC | $0.44M |
| ceWETH | $0.16M | |
| ceUSDT | $0.13M |
All BTC and ETH derivatives are supplied via bridges. Bridged USDC and USDT assets have slowed as native USDC and USDT have become available.
2.3 Ecosystem Growth Initiatives
The Aptos Foundation manages ecosystem grants program to support builders and community growth, offering $5,000 to $50,000 funding. 125M APT tokens were allocated at launch to support ecosystem projects, grants, and community growth initiatives. Recently, Aptos committed to spending $200M in a new grants and investments program.
Aptos Ascend program caters to TradFi institutions to onboard and use its secure and scalable tech. Current partners include MSFT, SK Telecom, Brevan Howard, and BCG. Also, Elliptic and Aptos Foundation have partnered to enable compliance screening and risk services for Aptos network.
The Aptos LFM program aims to support existing projects close to TGE through dedicated support infra, providing access to networks, fundraising, and token strategy guidance.
Native minting for both USDT and USDC was introduced, leading to an increase in stablecoin market cap and decrease in bridged stablecoin assets. As discussed earlier, the integration of Ethena allows for new yield-farming strategies, bolstering TVL on Aptos.
The onboarding of USDC introduces its CCTP technology, enabling seamless transfers across eight major chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Base. Additionally, the Aptos Foundation has announced plans to launch Stripe payment services integrated with native USDC, facilitating a fiat on-ramp for users.
Aptos also hosts some of the market’s largest tokenized RWAs, including BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX Fund, and Ondo Finance’s USDY token. Additionally, Aptos just announced that PACT Protocol, an RWA credit protocol, will be migrating to Aptos. These developments underscore Aptos’ trajectory toward becoming the preferred blockchain for tokenized assets and institutions seeking secure, high-performance onchain solutions.
2.4 Major and Native Asset Outlook
Due to the relatively recent integration of native USDT and USDC on Aptos, their liquidity and market presence remain limited. However, liquidity for USDT and USDC has been in an uptrend since integration, with the recent addition of CCTP likely pushing further adoption. Bridged WETH (LayerZero, Wormhole, Celer) and WBTC (LayerZero, Wormhole) are available, too. Additionally, aBTC, a BTC restaking token from Echo Protocol, is the most significant bridged asset (as shown in section 2.2).
APT is the native token of Aptos, facilitating transaction fees and enabling governance participation for users staking APT with validators. The current annual staking reward rate is 7%. Both locked and unlocked APT can be staked.
Source: APT Vesting Schedule, Aptos
Currently, the circulating supply is 617M APT, with 1% of the total supply being released monthly. The Aptos Foundation holds 80% of the 510M APT community tokens, while Aptos Labs controls 100M APT. Anchorage, Coinbase, and Copper manage foundation wallets. In addition to their custodian services, they also insure custodied assets.
The network also features various liquid staking tokens (LSTs) for APT, including (as of April 17th, 2025):
- amAPT ($188M) and stAPT ($150M) by Amnis Finance.
- TruAPT ($49M) by TruStake
- thAPT ($30M) and sthAPT ($23M) by Thala LSD
The combined market cap of Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) is $440M, accounting for just 8.1% of APT’s $5.4B total market cap. Notably, 76% of APT supply is directly staked with validators, offering a 7% APR, highlighting the significant untapped potential for LST adoption and growth.
As mentioned in sections 1.1.4 and 1.2, validator centralization is characterized by geographical concentration (50% in Europe) and minimum staking requirements (1M APT). Relative to Ethereum, this level of centralization creates an unhealthy reliance on a single jurisdiction (e.g., potential regulation that could impact the network’s performance). A limited set of validators increases exposure to potential malicious or inactive validator risk. Even if slashing were implemented, it would likely do little to minimize these centralization factors.
3. Onchain Discoverability
The Aptos ecosystem is supported by a diverse range of tools, including blockchain explorers such as AptoScan (by Etherscan), Aptos Explorer (by Aptos Labs), TraceMove, Xangle Explorer, and OkLink (by OKX), alongside data providers like Google BigQuery, Dune, Flipside, Sentio, and Space and Time.
Analytics dashboards are available on platforms such as DeFiLlama, TokenTerminal, The Tie, Nansen, DappRadar, SuperAptos, Dune, and Flipside, offering detailed insights into the Aptos ecosystem.
4. Impact of Aave Deployment
Lending markets account for 59% of the network’s total TVL. Echelon Market, leveraging Aave’s E-Mode design, has significantly enhanced capital efficiency, establishing itself as the second-largest lending protocol on Aptos. Aave’s proven track record of efficient lending markets will dramatically enhance DeFi on Aptos by attracting more users. The recent deployment of Aave on Sonic depicts how Aave attracts TVL, with Sonic’s TVL rising by over 40% in the three weeks after Aave was deployed. This aligns with the recent launch of native USDT, USDC, and USDe on Aptos, further stimulating lending and borrowing activities on the network. The increased usage of stablecoins caused by Aave will help the entirety of Aptos by deepening liquidity.
Also, LSTs account for only 7.6% of APT’s supply, compared to 77% staked directly with validators. This underscores significant growth potential for liquid staking, which, as adoption increases, could serve as collateral to enhance Aave’s TVL in the future.
5. Asset Suggestions
Our methodology for onboarding assets focuses on three key criteria: prior successful integration and risk assessment within the Aave ecosystem, asset TVL on the network, and the available liquidity relative to the total asset TVL.
Suggested assets for onboard:
| Asset | Onchain Supply | DEX Liquidity |
|---|---|---|
| USDC | 241M | 1.09M |
| USDT | 1.13B | 1.15M |
| APT | 1.15B | 369K |
| sUSDe | 91M | 11.1M |
Other significant assets on the network, such as aBTC, amAPT, and stAPT, have not been considered due to not being previously onboarded and require a separate risk assessment. Although lzUSDC offers similar liquidity to native USDT and USDC, it presents additional security considerations due to being a bridged variant. The suggested supply cap for APT should be determined following a risk assessment of Aptos’ native token.
Aave V3 Specific Parameters
Will be coordinated and presented jointly with @ChaosLabs
Price feed Recommendation
Chainlink price feeds are available for the suggested assets through a single price feed contract.
Note: This assessment follows the LLR-Network Qualification Framework, a comprehensive methodology for network onboarding and parameterization in Aave V3. This framework is continuously updated and available here.
Disclaimer
This review was independently prepared by LlamaRisk, a community-led decentralized organization funded in part by the Aave DAO. LlamaRisk is not directly affiliated with the protocol(s) reviewed in this assessment and did not receive any compensation from the protocol(s) or their affiliated entities for this work.
The information provided should not be construed as legal, financial, tax, or professional advice.