AAVE rises 16% as Standard Chartered forecasts $3,500 target

The price of Aave's AAVE token surged approximately 16% on Thursday, June 25, trading around $82 and significantly outperforming a broader cryptocurrency market that saw Bitcoin briefly fall below $60,000. The sharp rally followed a major institutional price forecast and marked a test of a key technical resistance level the token has faced for months.

The rally was catalyzed by a new research report from Standard Chartered, which initiated coverage on AAVE with a long-term price target of $3,500 by 2030. Geoff Kendrick, the bank's global head of digital assets research, described Aave as an "on-chain bank" and projected that assets across the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector could expand roughly 37 times by the end of the decade. The report tied much of the projected upside to the success of Aave Horizon, the protocol's initiative to bring traditional finance firms on-chain as borrowers.

The optimistic forecast helped shift market sentiment, contributing to a recovery that saw AAVE rebound roughly 17% from a low near $72 on Wednesday. The move pushed the token to test a descending trendline that has capped its rallies since late 2025, with immediate technical resistance...