TheBlock
Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov says DeFi may need to take an "Uber path" to regulation: grow adoption until lawmakers can no longer put off writing the rules. Speaking at Avalanche Summit in New York less than 24 hours after the Senate voted 49-50 against advancing the Clarity Act, Kulechov said he remains "very hopeful" the bill can still pass this year, noting that lawmakers on both sides want clearer definitions, safeguards and market structure.
"But if that doesn't obviously happen, I think the ultimate goal is to really use this technology and empower millions of people around the world," Kulechov told The Block's Gareth Jenkinson. Higher adoption, he argues, will demonstrate DeFi's benefits and make regulation unavoidable, the way ride-sharing eventually forced its own legal framework.
Why it matters
The failed vote leaves the US without a dedicated market-structure regime for digital assets, and industry figures are now splitting between legislative patience and adoption-first strategies. Kulechov's argument is that regulation follows scale, not the other way around. Beyond Washington, he said Aave's next growth phase extends DeFi beyond crypto-native assets into tokenized stocks, securities and other real-world assets.
To that end, Aave unveiled a real-world asset hub on Avalanche targeting institutional lending and borrowing, letting certain tokenized assets serve as collateral to borrow stablecoins. "Institutions come with size, so that's where a lot of the demand will come," Kulechov said, adding that tokenization is "not a technological challenge anymore" but a go-to-market one.
Market impact
Aave is also building a consumer app that abstracts wallets, networks and stablecoins, letting users move money directly between bank accounts and Aave around a simpler savings experience. "I think DeFi will be plugging all finance in the next couple of decades," Kulechov said. For AAVE, the pivot ties protocol growth to institutional RWA demand regardless of how the Clarity Act saga ends.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the 'Uber path' for DeFi regulation?
Aave founder Stani Kulechov argues DeFi should grow adoption until it becomes important enough that lawmakers are forced to write clear rules, the way ride-sharing eventually forced its own regulatory framework.
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What happened to the Clarity Act in the Senate?
The Senate voted 49-50 against advancing the Clarity Act, leaving the US without dedicated digital asset market-structure legislation. Kulechov remains hopeful the bill can still pass this year.
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What is Aave's new real-world asset hub?
Unveiled on Avalanche, the hub targets institutional lending and borrowing, allowing certain tokenized assets such as stocks and securities to be used as collateral to borrow stablecoins.
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Why is Aave focusing on institutions?
Kulechov said institutions come with size, so most of the demand for onchain lending against tokenized real-world assets will come from them, and the technology is no longer the obstacle.
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What consumer product is Aave building?
Aave is developing an app that abstracts wallets, networks and stablecoins, letting users move money between their bank accounts and Aave through a simpler savings experience.
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