Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced that the platform anticipates the DeFi economy has a potential of up to $50 billion, noting that there are abundant assets yet to be tokenized. Kulechov added that the tokenization of real assets on blockchains is still in its early stages, with approximately $25 billion already tokenized globally.
Since its inception nearly a decade ago, decentralized finance (DeFi) has aimed to replicate traditional financial services, such as lending and yield generation, without banking intermediaries. Protocols like Aave were the first to allow users to do so automatically and without intermediaries.
Aave, specifically, established itself as a major player in DeFi, with Total Value Locked (TVL) figures exceeding $40 billion at its peak.
Historically, DeFi’s growth was measured by the volume of digital assets (such as ETH, USDT, or wETH) locked in decentralized applications. But Kulechov now proposes that DeFi’s true potential lies not only in native cryptocurrencies but also in the ability to bring real-world assets (such as solar energy, high-yield agriculture, batteries, robotics, vertical farming, and others) to the blockchain through tokenization.
— Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) February 15, 2026
Expanding DeFi beyond traditional crypto assets
This approach requires a paradigm shift: moving from scarce and traditional assets, such as Treasury bonds or stocks, to abundant assets that can be replicated, scaled, and potentially sustainable at large, as Stani Kuleshov, founder of Aave, stated in X:
“The need for investment doesn’t saturate. It expands. The realistic range is $15 to $30 trillion in solar investment by 2050. There is a possible scenario that reaches between $30 and $50 trillion.”
The vision of tokenizing up to $50 billion in abundant assets by 2050 has profound implications for various groups, since both investors and users of platforms like Aave will have access to financial instruments with a different kind of backing, much more tangible than current options.
As in the case of solar energy projects, these can be tokenized, and users and investors will receive returns for their participation in the project. In this way, speculation on token prices ceases, and tangible and secure profits are achieved.
On the other hand, if asset tokenization goes beyond isolated projects and is integrated into global markets, banks, investment funds, insurers, and traditional asset managers could leverage DeFi markets to issue, trade, or finance real assets more efficiently than with conventional financial instruments. This has the potential to attract institutional capital, incentivizing flows that currently remain outside the crypto ecosystem.
The path outlined by Stani Kuleshov is primarily intended for sectors such as energy, especially renewables, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technologies, which require financing to expand. Tokenization would allow global investors direct access to these projects, reducing barriers to entry and potentially accelerating the execution of projects that could contribute, for example, to achieving clean energy or sustainable infrastructure goals, in addition to making the ecosystem less expensive.
The growth of the DeFi ecosystem
The growth of the DeFi world began around 2020, driven by increased interest in decentralized applications. During this time, there was a significant surge in new projects aiming to provide traditional financial services on the blockchain. Users flocked to platforms offering yield farming, liquidity mining, and decentralized lending, eager to take advantage of attractive returns.
The total value locked in DeFi protocols soared, capturing the attention of both individual and institutional investors. This unprecedented growth highlighted the need for decentralized alternatives to traditional finance.
