An SEC spokesperson told reporters the commission does not comment on whether investigations exist or have concluded.
Crypto Regulatory News
The Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its investigation into Aave without recommending enforcement action, according to a letter shared by founder and CEO Stani Kulechov on Tuesday. The probe lasted approximately four years.
The Aug. 12 correspondence from SEC staff stated the agency does not intend to pursue action against the decentralized finance protocol. Kulechov described the process as demanding significant resources from the team to protect Aave and the broader DeFi ecosystem.
No Wells notice appears in publicly available SEC records for Aave. An SEC spokesperson told reporters the commission does not comment on whether investigations exist or have concluded.
The Aave token gained more than 3% in the 24 hours following the announcement, reaching $187.85 according to Nansen data. The protocol currently holds $32.79 billion in total value locked across its lending markets.
World Liberty Financial, backed by President Donald Trump, submitted a proposal in 2024 to build on the Aave protocol. The project later purchased nearly $1 million worth of Aave tokens before shifting focus to its $USD1 stablecoin initiative.
The closure marks the latest in a series of SEC enforcement actions that have been withdrawn or dismissed since Trump's January inauguration. The agency has dropped or paused investigations involving roughly 60% of crypto cases initiated in recent years.
Previous cases that have closed without action include those against Uniswap Labs, Gemini, and Ripple Labs. The regulatory shift follows campaign promises to reduce enforcement pressure on digital asset companies.
Kulechov stated the resolution allows developers to focus on building financial infrastructure without regulatory uncertainty. The protocol continues to expand its lending services across multiple blockchain networks.
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