At the start of February 2026, Grayscale filed with the SEC to convert its Grayscale Aave Trust into a spot AAVE ETF. The product would list on NYSE Arca and directly track AAVE.
Notably, the proposal included a 2.5% sponsor fee paid in AAVE, with Coinbase as custodian.
With AAVE near a $1.8B market cap, the filing shifted tone. This led to a hard question about institutional intent. Despite these advancements, approval remained uncertain.
However, the signal was clear: traditional finance was watching closely.
Is AAVE entering its institutional era?
Derivatives rebuilt. Weekly Active Addresses recovered. The token reclaimed ascending support. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s ETF filing pulled institutions into the conversation.
As we progress into 2026, sustained strength above $148–$180 would confirm expansion.
Should the trend continue, institutional doors could open wider, placing AAVE closer to the level of attention seen with Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Open Interest rebounds: AAVE reclaims ascending support
Utility altcoins often see attention most times when Bitcoin bounces back from reversals. That’s exactly what happened to this DeFi lending protocol token.
On the 15th of February 2026, as Bitcoin pushed heavily toward $70K, risk appetite returned across the market. AAVE reacted immediately.
It snapped back with strength while Open Interest expanded sharply, doubling from $153M to around $237M. As a result, the price climbed over 22% from $106 and stabilized near $128.
Source: CoinGlass
On the daily timeframe, AAVE reclaimed its long-term ascending support. It had briefly lost that structure in early February. Holding above it ruled the breakdown a fakeout.
Source: TradingView
However, local resistance remained between $148 and $180. Failure to clear it would stall momentum. But the MACD confirmed the strength was real with a bullish crossover. Clearing it exposed $348–$398.
Weekly active addresses bounce back up
AAVE’s Weekly Active Addresses climbed back to levels seen in late 2024 and early Q1 2025. That recovery marked a decisive return in network participation. In particular, user engagement expanded after a mid-cycle cooldown.
Source: Token Terminal
Moreover, rising on-chain interaction aligned with the derivatives rebound. This was not leverage alone driving activity. Participation across the protocol strengthened the overall backdrop.
Therefore, the recovery carried more weight than a simple speculative spike.
Final Summary
- AAVE combined structural recovery, rising Open Interest, and network growth into one forceful rebound.
- Grayscale’s ETF filing intensified institutional attention, but resistance levels still demanded respect.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/grayscale-files-spot-aave-etf-sparks-institutional-shift-narrative/
