Aave Labs launches Horizon, a lending platform for institutions to borrow stablecoins against tokenized real-world assets, bridging DeFi and traditional finance.
Author: Sahil Thakur
Aave Labs has officially launched Horizon, a new institutional lending platform that allows stablecoin borrowing against tokenized real-world assets. The release, announced on August 27, marks one of Aave’s biggest steps toward integrating real-world finance into the DeFi ecosystem.
Built on a permissioned version of Aave Protocol v3.3, Horizon offers compliant, onchain infrastructure for institutions to borrow stablecoins like USDC, RLUSD, and GHO using tokenized bonds, treasuries, and CLOs as collateral. The goal: unlock the $25B+ of tokenized RWAs sitting idle onchain.
At launch, Horizon supports collateral from Superstate, Circle, and Centrifuge, including assets like the USTB, USYC, JAAA, and VBILL funds. These represent tokenized U.S. Treasury bills and AAA-rated credit instruments.
Borrowers must be qualified institutions. Lenders, however, can be anyone, permissionless stablecoin markets remain intact, preserving composability. Lenders earn yield. Borrowers keep exposure to RWAs without selling them.
Compliance is enforced at the token level via issuer whitelisting. This keeps Aave’s non-custodial ethos while meeting institutional requirements.
Chainlink’s SmartData infrastructure plays a central role. Its Onchain NAV system feeds real-time net asset values of collateral directly onchain. This enables automated, overcollateralized lending without human oracles. Future integrations will include Proof of Reserves and SmartAUM.
Risk oversight is handled by Chaos Labs and Llama Risk, two firms specializing in DeFi credit risk. Other partners include Securitize, VanEck, WisdomTree, Ripple, and more.
Horizon is part of a broader institutional push by Aave Labs. It follows the launch of GHO, Aave’s own stablecoin, and anticipates deeper integration with private credit, tokenized securities, and regulated finance.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov called Horizon a “critical leap” for institutional DeFi. “It delivers deep stablecoin liquidity, transparent rails, and 24/7 access to capital,” he said.
By offering infrastructure that speaks the language of both DeFi and TradFi, Aave is placing itself at the center of the RWA-tokenization wave, one that could reshape capital markets over the next decade.
Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati summed it up: “The true value of RWAs isn’t in tokenization. It’s in what you do with them once they’re onchain.”
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