Aave Shuts Down Avara Brand and Family Crypto Wallet

Aave Labs is consolidating its branding around core decentralized finance offerings, signaling a shift away from its umbrella project Avara. The reorganization follows a string of moves intended to streamline product focus and accelerate mainstream adoption of Aave’s DeFi stack. In a post on X, founder and CEO Stani Kulechov explained that Avara—an umbrella for projects including the Family crypto wallet and Lens-related initiatives—will be deprecated as the team doubles down on bringing Aave to a wider audience. The announcement underscores a broader theme in the ecosystem: simplifying user experiences to drive mass adoption rather than expanding brand reach through ancillary products.

Key takeaways

• Aave Labs replaces Avara as the central branding home for current and future products, including Aave App, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit.
• The Family wallet on iOS is winding down, with onboarding of new users halted and a slated wind-down over the next year.
• Lens governance has shifted away from Aave, with stewardship handed to Mask Network and Aave taking on a primarily advisory role for Lens-related work.
• The change is part of a broader strategic refocus on DeFi product development and ecosystem integration rather than broad branding expansion.
• Aave remains the dominant DeFi protocol by total value locked (TVL), hovering around $30 billion, well ahead of competitors.

Tickers mentioned: $AAVE

Price impact: Negative. The AAVE price recently declined about 0.7% in the last 24 hours, trading around $127.40.

Market context: The move comes as the DeFi sector consolidates leadership around core lending and borrowing protocols. With Aave at the forefront of TVL—roughly $30 billion, according to DefiLlama—the branding simplification may help streamline user onboarding and product development amid fluctuating risk sentiment and regulatory scrutiny that has grown tighter around decentralized finance offerings.

Why it matters

The decision to sunset Avara and consolidate into Aave Labs signals a strategic bet on a more focused, product-led growth path. By winding down the Family wallet and relegating Lens governance to a governance partner, Aave appears to be prioritizing a seamless end-user experience and clear product ownership. For investors and developers, the move provides a more direct line of accountability for delivering DeFi features that scale: a more cohesive roadmap, clearer product boundaries, and less fragmentation across brands.

On the user experience front, the Family wallet’s wind-down represents a realignment of resources toward experiences that encourage sustained engagement, such as savings-oriented features rather than open-ended wallet functionality. While the wallet’s iOS app will be phased out over the coming year, existing users will still be able to access their funds via Aave’s web interfaces through at least 2027. This keeps funds secure and accessible while the underlying infrastructure continues to support Aave Labs’ broader product ecosystem.

The Lens protocol transition, previously under Aave stewardship, to Mask Network, underscores a broader industry trend: governance and development responsibilities are increasingly distributed to specialized teams. While Aave maintains an advisory role, the strategic emphasis remains on preserving protocol integrity and enabling DeFi deployment at scale. This alignment could help reduce overlaps and accelerate deployment timelines for core Aave products in areas like lending, borrowing, and asset management, reinforcing the network’s competitive position in a crowded DeFi landscape.

In formal terms, Aave Labs will house all current and future offerings, including the Aave App, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit. The branding simplification aims to minimize confusion for users navigating a growing suite of tools and services. By concentrating branding under a single umbrella, the company aims to deliver a more coherent user journey—from onboarding to advanced use cases—without sacrificing the security and reliability that have underpinned its market leadership.

From a market perspective, Aave’s status as the largest DeFi protocol by total value locked provides a cushion against volatility in the broader crypto markets. With TVL around $30 billion and Lido’s staking protocol trailing at roughly $21.7 billion, the competitive landscape remains robust. The price action of AAVE—which traded around $127.40 after a 0.7% daily dip—reflects the typical sensitivity of blue-chip DeFi tokens to broader liquidity and regulatory dynamics, even as the core product suite continues to evolve in line with the company’s strategic reorientation.

What to watch next

• April 1: No new users will be onboarded to the iOS Family Wallet, marking a hard stop for new installations.
• April 1, 2027: Existing Family Wallet users retain access to their funds via Aave’s web interfaces; iOS app access ends, completing the wind-down.
• Updates on Aave App, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit within Aave Labs, including roadmap milestones and governance developments.
• Lens protocol governance and collaboration with Mask Network—monitor any public governance proposals or technical integrations.

Sources & verification

• Stani Kulechov’s X post announcing the sunset of Avara and the move to focus on bringing Aave to the masses.
• Avara blog post detailing that current and future products will operate under Aave Labs and the wind-down of the Family wallet on iOS.
• DefiLlama TVL data confirming Aave as the largest DeFi protocol with approximately $30 billion in total value locked.
• CoinGecko price data showing AAVE trading around $127.40 with a ~0.7% daily decline.

Why it matters

The branding consolidation is a signal of maturity for Aave as it increasingly treats DeFi tooling as an integrated ecosystem rather than a set of standalone products. By aligning development under Aave Labs, the project can allocate resources more efficiently, reduce friction for users, and accelerate delivery of core DeFi capabilities that have driven adoption since the early days of the protocol.

For builders, the move clarifies accountability and ownership for each product, potentially speeding up integration work and reuse of components across the Aave ecosystem. For users, a streamlined brand can translate into a simpler onboarding flow, more consistent user interfaces, and fewer disruptions caused by shifting project scope. Regulators, too, may appreciate a well-defined product suite with centralized governance and clearer risk management practices across Aave’s core offerings.

In the broader crypto market, the emphasis on DeFi-focused growth comes at a time when liquidity and risk appetite remain uneven. However, as institutional and retail demand for scalable, compliant, and user-friendly DeFi tools persists, Aave’s renewed focus could bolster confidence in its trajectory and reinforce its position as a leading provider of decentralized financial primitives.

What to watch next

• Roadmap updates for Aave App, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit under Aave Labs in the coming quarters.
• Any governance proposals related to Lens or other partnerships tied to the Lens ecosystem.
• Evolving product onboarding experiences aimed at broad user segments, including savings-focused features.