Introducing Horizon
Aave Labs is thrilled to introduce Horizon, a new initiative building institutional DeFi products. Horizon’s first product will enable institutions to use tokenized money market funds (MMFs) as collateral to access stablecoin liquidity.
Horizon’s vision is to bridge DeFi’s open, transparent architecture with the operational needs of asset issuers, providing a structured approach to institutional participation in onchain finance. By aligning with institutional standards while preserving DeFi’s core efficiencies, Horizon unlocks a compliant, scalable, and accessible pathway for institutions and tokenization platforms to engage in decentralized finance. The goal is to position the Aave ecosystem as the preferred liquidity and infrastructure layer for institutional DeFi and as a leader in the real-world assets (RWAs) space.
At launch, Horizon will support tokenized MMFs as collateral and expand in the future to accept a broader range of RWA’s. Building on insights from Aave Arc, a fully permissioned institutional DeFi framework, Horizon is designed to support RWAs that are inherently permissioned at the token level, while maintaining permissionless access to stablecoin liquidity. This includes the Aave-native GHO stablecoin, providing institutions and tokenization platforms with a decentralized, transparent, and overcollateralized stable asset for borrowing, maintained by smart contract code. By establishing GHO as a key liquidity source for institutional borrowers, Horizon strengthens its utility and adoption.
As traditional finance and DeFi converge, Horizon will broaden institutional access to onchain capital, accelerating the adoption of Aave and enabling borrowing against RWAs at scale.
The Rise of Tokenized Real-World Assets
The adoption of RWAs onchain is no longer hypothetical—it’s a growing reality. Tokenization is reshaping financial markets by enhancing liquidity, reducing costs, and enabling 24/7 programmable transactions, making traditional assets more accessible onchain.
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries have surpassed $4 billion in total value locked (TVL), growing 408% YoY as investors increasingly turn to RWAs for stable and predictable yield. Yet, despite this momentum, structural gaps remain—DeFi’s open architecture was not designed to meet institutional compliance, governance, and risk management needs.
Closing this gap requires purpose-built solutions that integrate real-world assets into DeFi while maintaining its core advantages. At Aave Labs, we believe all assets will be tokenized onchain, with DeFi as the backbone of global finance. Just as financial systems evolved from paper to digital, onchain finance represents the next evolution in finance.
Looking Ahead
We believe DeFi will be the backbone of global finance, and Horizon will bridge the gap between asset issuers and DeFi, enabling institutional adoption of decentralized finance.
If you’re an RWA issuer, liquidity provider, or institution looking to engage in decentralized finance, we welcome the opportunity to collaborate.