Aave Labs Acquires Stable Finance to Expand DeFi Access

Aave Labs, the team behind the Aave lending protocol, has acquired Stable Finance, a San Francisco-based fintech startup, according to an Oct. 23 press release.

The deal brings Stable Finance founder Mario Baxter Cabrera into Aave Labs as Director of Product, along with the company’s full engineering team. Aave currently has more than $38 billion in total value locked (TVL), making it the largest DeFi protocol, per DeFiLlama.

The acquisition highlights Aave Labs’ shift beyond core protocol work toward making decentralized finance (DeFi) more accessible. The team says that, even with strong infrastructure, onboarding and user experience still make DeFi difficult for many users.

“We believe the future of finance is on-chain, and this acquisition reinforces our commitment to turning on-chain finance into everyday finance – earning interest, borrowing, and saving,” said Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave Labs. “Mario and the Stable team have built unique technology supporting a seamless user experience that will help accelerate our consumer roadmap and extend the Aave protocol to new users.”

Stable’s tech aims to simplify stablecoin savings, allowing users to deposit funds from a bank account, card, or crypto wallet while keeping full control of their money.

According to the release, the Stable app will be phased out over time, though its technology and design will be incorporated into future Aave Labs consumer products. During the transition period, users will retain full access to their funds, with no forced withdrawals or lock-ups.

Meanwhile, the global stablecoin supply has surpassed $308 billion, up $100 billion from the start of the year, per DeFiLlama. Tether’s USDT retains the largest market share with a market capitalization of $182.5 billion.

The move marks Aave Labs’ third talent-focused acquisition, following Sonar in 2022 and Family in 2023. Earlier this week, Aave also announced it would be teaming up with on-chain asset manager Maple Finance to bring institutional assets to DeFi lending markets.

Aave’s native token AAVE is currently trading at $223, flat on the day, but down 19% in the past month.