AAVE plans to expand collateralized lending beyond crypto

AAVE plans to expand its collateralized lending business beyond crypto into securities such as stocks and real-world assets, according to remarks by founder Stani Kulechov. Kulechov said the protocol aims to broaden the collateral lending market in stages, moving from cryptocurrencies to securities and then to physical assets. Over the long term, Kulechov said assets such as solar power equipment, batteries, GPUs, robots and space infrastructure could also be used as collateral to raise funds. AAVE is currently pursuing a plan through V4 on Base to support tokenized stock-backed loans that would let users borrow USDC against seven U.S. stocks.