Aave founder Stani Kulechov has confirmed that ETHLend will return in 2026. The announcement immediately sparked discussion in the crypto community, especially after Stani revealed that the new version will support native BTC instead of wrapped tokens.
This move feels quite bold, considering that native BTC-based lending models are rare on major DeFi platforms. On the other hand, it raises expectations that this overhaul may be far more mature than the pure P2P approach of 2017.
Most interesting part was that the Bitcoin collateral was real Bitcoin, no wrappers.
In 2026, we will bring ETHLend back, I promise. https://t.co/o1JIiiRmUs
— Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) November 22, 2025
ETHLend’s model enabled users to borrow and lend through a straightforward peer-to-peer system. The model struggled with liquidity. For this reason, the project was restructured during the crypto market downturn in 2018, ultimately leading to the emergence of Aave with its much more flexible pooled liquidity approach.
The use of native BTC has led many to wonder whether ETHLend will eventually be developed into a lending alternative that utilizes Bitcoin assets without the intermediary of wrapped tokens. On top of that, this approach may finally offer a path for users who’ve been wanting to secure their BTC without relying on cross-chain bridges, which many still view as risky.
We recently reported that Aave had introduced the V4 public testnet, complete with a fully open-source V4 codebase and a developer preview for the updated Aave Pro interface. This kind of public access typically allows the community and developers to test new features before the final launch.
Meanwhile, Aave recently attracted attention after integrating services with 12,000 banks within the Aave app, offering users a base savings rate of 5%. Even more impressive, this rate can jump to 9% through simple incentives.
This move appears to be an effort to expand Aave’s reach to a wider user base, particularly those unfamiliar with traditional DeFi lending models but seeking a more flexible savings plan.
Meanwhile, as of press time, the AAVE token is changing hands at about $179.66, up 0.28% over the last 4 hours and 4.62% over the last 24 hours.
