Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, has revealed the “master plan” for his decentralized protocol for 2026, following the announcement that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has concluded its four-year investigation into the platform.
In a Tuesday post on X, Kulechov stated that although 2025 has been the platform’s most “successful year” so far, he considers Aave to be at “day zero compared to what’s to come.”
Looking ahead to 2026, the CEO emphasized a master plan focused on scaling the DeFi platform and achieving specific usage goals, including $1 billion in real-world asset (RWA) deposits.
“Our strategy for next year revolves around three core pillars: Aave V4, Horizon, and Aave App,” he explained.
Aave V4 is set to be a significant upgrade, bringing enhancements to the platform’s borrowing and lending pools, user interface, and liquidation parameters, among other improvements.
Kulechov described V4 as the “backbone of all finance,” highlighting the tailored lending markets enabled by the Hub and Spoke model.
In this model, the hub serves as a single unified crosschain liquidity pool, which acts as the central point for all assets within the protocol, while the spokes represent highly customizable markets that utilize hub liquidity.
“This will empower Aave to manage trillions of dollars in assets, making it the preferred choice for any institution, fintech, or company seeking Aave’s extensive, reliable liquidity,” he added, stating:
“In 2026, Aave will feature new markets, new assets, and new integrations unseen in DeFi. We will continue to collaborate with fintechs and work closely with the DAO and our partners to gradually scale TVL throughout the year.”
Regarding the second pillar, Horizon, Aave’s decentralized RWA market, Kulechov expressed intentions to onboard “numerous leading financial institutions” to take a significant role in the RWA sector.
“Horizon currently stands at $550M in net deposits. In 2026, we aim to rapidly scale this to $1 billion and beyond by partnering with top institutional players like Circle, Ripple, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and more to bring major global asset classes to Aave,” he noted.
The third pillar is Aave’s mobile app, launched on the Apple Store in mid-November. Kulechov referred to it as a “trojan horse” to bring DeFi into the mainstream.
The CEO indicated that the mobile fintech sector represents a “$2+ trillion dollar industry” that Aave intends to leverage by simplifying its complex infrastructure for users while surpassing competitors with superior savings products.
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“Early next year, we will initiate the full rollout of Aave App and embark on our journey to our first million users. This will directly stimulate growth for Aave Protocol through a completely new and untapped market. Aave cannot expand to trillions of dollars without widespread adoption on the product level.”
SEC concludes four-year investigation
On Tuesday, Kulechov confirmed the conclusion of the SEC’s four-year investigation into Aave, sharing a letter dated Aug. 12, 2025.
Kulechov expressed that the platform is “pleased to move past this phase as we enter a new era where developers can truly craft the future of finance.”
In addition to the SEC and master plan announcements, Kulechov highlighted on Tuesday that he personally acquired $9.8 million worth of AAVE, separate from the Aave DAO’s proposed buyback initiative.
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