Aave Founder Reveals 2026 Vision After SEC Investigation Concludes

Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of Aave, has laid out an ambitious "master plan" for 2026, right after announcing that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its four-year investigation into the platform.

Key Takeaways:

Stani Kulechov outlined Aave's ambitious plans for 2026 after the SEC closed its investigation.
The plan centers around three key pillars: Aave V4, Horizon for real-world assets, and a mobile app for mainstream adoption.
Aave aims to significantly scale its real-world asset deposits and revolutionize user access to decentralized finance.

Overall, Aave's strategic vision for the coming years shows a determined push toward scaling its services and enhancing its market presence in the rapidly evolving DeFi landscape.

Aave founder outlines 2026 ‘master plan’ after end to SEC probe

In a post on X, Kulechov stated that, despite 2025 being the most “successful year” so far for Aave, he believes the platform is still at “day zero” compared to the future possibilities. The CEO's vision for 2026 emphasizes scaling the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform and achieving significant targets, such as securing $1 billion in real-world asset (RWA) deposits.

“Our strategy for the upcoming year is built around three main pillars: Aave V4, Horizon, and the Aave App,” he explained.

Source: Stani Kulechov

Master Plan Pillar 1: Aave V4

Aave V4 is a substantial upgrade designed to significantly enhance the platform's borrowing and lending capabilities, user interface, and liquidation parameters, among other improvements. Kulechov emphasized that V4 will serve as the “backbone of all finance,” thanks to its tailored lending markets supported by the Hub and Spoke model.

In this model, the "hub" acts as a central cross-chain liquidity pool, gathering all assets, while the "spokes" are customizable markets utilizing the hub’s liquidity. This structure aims to enable Aave to manage trillions of dollars in assets, establishing it as the premiere choice for institutions and fintech companies needing access to reliable liquidity.

Master Plan Pillar 2: Horizon

Next, Kulechov highlighted Horizon, Aave’s decentralized market for real-world assets. He expressed the intent to onboard numerous leading financial institutions to become a significant player in the RWA space.

“Horizon currently holds $550 million in net deposits. In 2026, we aim to scale this quickly to $1 billion and beyond by partnering with major institutional players like Circle, Ripple, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck to introduce major global asset classes to the Aave platform,” he said.

Master Plan Pillar 3: Aave Mobile App

The final component of Aave's 2026 vision is the launch of its mobile app, which appeared on the Apple Store in mid-November. Kulechov referred to it as a “trojan horse” meant to bring decentralized finance to mainstream users.

He noted that the mobile fintech sector represents a “$2+ trillion dollar industry,” and Aave seeks to tap into this market by making its advanced infrastructure user-friendly and providing superior savings products compared to competitors.

“Early next year, we’ll fully roll out the Aave App and begin our quest to attract our first million users. This initiative is crucial for Aave Protocol's growth, enabling us to enter a previously untapped market. We cannot scale to trillions of dollars without widespread adoption on the user level,” he added.

Source: Stani Kulechov

SEC Investigation Concluded

On the same day, Kulechov confirmed the conclusion of the SEC's four-year investigation by sharing a letter dated August 12, 2025. He expressed relief, stating that the platform is “glad to move past this phase as it opens up a new era for developers to innovate in the future of finance.” Alongside the updates on the SEC investigation and the master plan, Kulechov also revealed he personally bought $9.8 million worth of AAVE tokens, outside of the Aave DAO’s proposed buyback program.