Trump’s DeFi venture to use Aave and Ethereum not Bitcoin with open-source approach Trump’s DeFi venture to use Aave and Ethereum not Bitcoin with open-source approach
President Trump's DeFi venture legal adviser believes the project will help to on-board new users to the industry.
2 min read
Updated: Sep. 4, 2024 at 3:30 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Reports have revealed that Aave is a key infrastructure provider in former President Donald Trump’s latest venture into the DeFi sector.
On Sept. 3, Coindesk, citing the whitepaper of the Trump-associated crypto initiative World Liberty Financial, revealed that the project will be built on the Aave platform and the Ethereum blockchain and focus on a “credit account system.”
Trump has taken a positive stance on Bitcoin during his campaign but has not chosen to join the wave of DeFi momentum on the network, indicating broader interest in blockchain technology beyond the leading digital asset.
Not an Aave fork
Crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro, whose legal partner Alex Golubitsky advises the Trump-related project, clarified that it would be a “lightweight non-custodial feeder into Aave [and] not an Aave fork.”
According to him:
“My personal guess, and I hope it’s presented accordingly, is that it’s similar to the Trump NFT thing–it’s a way for Trump supporters to signal their support and learn/experience a bit about DeFi at the same time…Aave is real DeFi, it just deposits into Aave AFAIK.”
Even though this project isn’t an Aave fork, its connection with the DeFi lending protocol resulted in a brief spike in its token value. However, it has slightly retraced to $129 as of press time, up 2% on the day amid a broader market decline.
Aave is the most prominent lending protocol in the crypto space, commanding 70% of the DeFi lending market. In terms of total value locked (TVL), Aave is the third-largest DeFi protocol, with around $11 billion in user funds locked on its platform. Stani Kulechov, co-founder of Aave, celebrated Aave’s success upon news Trump had used its technology, stating, “That’s why integrators choose Aave.”
DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong noted that despite the weak market conditions, there is a strong market conviction about the lending protocol after a whale purchased around $7 million worth of Aave’s native token.
Open source development
Meanwhile, Golubitsky pointed out that the President Trump project will be open source, allowing the crypto community to modify and redistribute the protocol. This approach aligns with the crypto community’s core values, strongly supporting open-source development.
Additionally, Golubitsky assured that top-tier auditors are involved to ensure the project’s security is robust.
Golubitsky emphasized that these efforts are designed to onboard new users to DeFi and contribute to the sector’s growth. He stated:
“We’re building a cool product and I think people will be impressed with the end result.”
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Author 
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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In this article
Aave is an open source and non-custodial protocol enabling the creation of money markets.
Ethereum
$3,142.91
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Bitcoin
$96,916.01
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
A businessman, politician, and media personality, Donald John Trump served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Stani Kulechov is the founder and CEO of Aave, formerly known as ETHLend.