Aave Exits Six Chains as Support Costs Outweigh Minimal Protocol Earnings

Woofun AI reports that Aave risk service provider LlamaRisk has recommended the wind-down of V3 deployments on Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos, citing unsustainable operational economics. This strategic retreat targets six specific chains where support expenditures significantly outpace the minimal protocol earnings generated by these networks.

The financial rationale for this withdrawal is stark, with LlamaRisk noting that Sonic, Scroll, and zkSync each generate less than $5,000 in quarterly protocol revenue, while Metis, Soneium, and Aptos fall below $1,000. These figures fail to cover oracle, monitoring, and operational support costs, prompting the proposal dated July 29 to place $4.1 million of debt on a staged exit path. The economic imbalance renders continued support on these low-yield networks financially unviable for the protocol.

Structurally, the proposal also addresses 50 individual reserves and 21 matured Pendle principal tokens across 11 deployments, encompassing $85.3 million supplied and $11.5 million borrowed. Per Woofun AI, the mechanism relies on a 5% base-rate and a 99% reserve factor, which directs nearly all interest revenue to the Aave treasury rather than suppliers. This configuration is designed to suppress supplier yield, thereby encouraging withdrawals and increasing utilization to incentivize borrower repayment.

The operational impact varies by chain, as every listed Sonic and Aptos reserve was active in the July 28 tables, whereas reserves on Scroll, zkSync, Metis, and Soneium were already frozen. The freeze prohibits new supply, new borrowing, and the use of assets as fresh collateral, though existing positions remain open. Any further unwinding will be assessed case by case, leaving remaining users exposed to potential rate and oracle adjustments during the transition.