- The crypto crash has affected some coins worse than others: LEND, Aave’s governance token, has shed 25% in the past 24 hours.
- The coin is still far above where it was just months ago, but a 15% drop in 24 hours is nothing to scoff at.
- LEND is currently trading at levels last seen in the last week of August.
- The cryptocurrency has been benefiting from growth in the DeFi sector, which has brought LEND from around $0.01 to a high around $0.80 in months.
LEND Collapses 15% Amid Crypto Crisis
Altcoin LEND took a beating as Bitcoin and Ethereum slid lower on Thursday. The leading decentralized finance coin has printed a loss of 15% in the past 24 hours, marginally underperforming the leading two cryptocurrencies.
Chart of LEND's price action over the past few weeks from TradingView.com
This strong correction takes the coin’s market capitalization back under $1 billion after it became the first DeFi coin to achieve that milestone.
LEND is poised to drop even further as it moves below crucial support levels.
It’s price action, though, will likely be directed by that of Bitcoin moving forward. Analysts are currently divided over the future of the leading cryptocurrency due to uncertainties about the macro economy and legacy markets. The stock market crashing once again, for instance, would likely send Bitcoin reeling as it did in March.
Top Investors Are Long on Aave Due to Fundamentals
LEND may continue its descent in the short-term as crypto investors rush for the exit and centralize capital in Bitcoin. Yet many investors remain long on the DeFi coin from a fundamental standpoint, citing Aave’s strong “product-market fit.”
DTC Capital’s Spencer Noon noted that the fact that Aave has so much capital in its products suggests the protocol has found “PMF.” What sets Aave apart from other protocols is that it currently does not have “liquidity mining” processes that attract capital unnaturally:
“One of the best signals of PMF in #DeFi is if a project can succeed w/o extra incentives (liquidity mining). @AaveAave doesn’t have LM yet it’s still one of the biggest beneficiaries of new yield farming activity. At $1.26B TVL and only $759M mcap—the fundamentals are so strong.”
One of the best signals of PMF in #DeFi is if a project can succeed w/o extra incentives (liquidity mining). @AaveAave doesn't have LM yet it's still one of the biggest beneficiaries of new yield farming activity. At $1.26B TVL and only $759M mcap—the fundamentals are so strong. pic.twitter.com/wlAZywY6c7
— Spencer Noon 🕛 (@spencernoon) August 20, 2020
Mutlicoin Capital partner Kyle Samani made a very similar comment, noting that LEND would be the only DeFi coin he would invest in for the next two years if it came to it:
“If I had to hold a single Ethereum based DeFi asset for 2 years, it would be $AAVE. By far the best combination of: product/market fit, token distribution, community, pace of innovation, and reasonable valuation with upside to go.”
Even Arthur Hayes, CEO of BitMEX, recently announced that he has scooped up the coin. Whether he is holding for the longer run, though, remains to be seen.
Featured Image from Shutterstock Price tags: lendusd, lendbtc Charts from TradingView.com Aave's Lend Drops 15% as Crypto Market Punishes DeFi
