Aave's latest roadmap "Aave 2030: V4, Aave Network, Liquidity Integrations"

The AAVE team, the Ethereum lending protocol, has announced the launch of a future development proposal "AAVE 2030", a five-year plan that includes the release of Aave V4, the Aave network, new product launches, and a rebranding initiative.

Rebranding

Firstly, the Aave team will change the branding of the Aave protocol according to the results of community governance. The previous ghostly design will be replaced with a more minimalist design, retaining only the eye motif, shifting towards a more modern style overall.

Aave V4

Building on Aave V3, Aave V4 will enhance modularity, optimize capital efficiency, dynamic risk allocation, liquidity risk pricing, and more, providing a more comprehensive integration with other Aave ecosystem products such as GHO and the new product line below.

One of the most significant structural changes in Aave V4 is the proposed introduction of a unified liquidity layer that abstracts liquidity. This structure allows for easy addition or improvement of any lending module in the future, such as isolated pools, RWA modules, or CDPs, without the need to alter the entire system, avoiding liquidity fragmentation issues seen in previous protocol updates.

Specifically, the new liquidity layer in Aave V4 allows the Aave DAO to add new lending modules and remove old ones in the future without the need to migrate liquidity. This prevents liquidity fragmentation issues that arise from version updates as seen in Aave V2 and V3.

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For more information on Aave V4 updates, refer to the proposal. The Aave V4 prototype is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the full code anticipated to be released in the second quarter of next year, with the decision to go live dependent on subsequent community governance.

Cross-Chain Liquidity Layer (CCLL)

With the maturation of CCIP, superchains concept, and the unified liquidity layer in V4, Aave aims to become a fully cross-chain liquidity protocol, creating a more secure Cross-Chain Liquidity Layer, CCLL, to replace the existing Portal product that was built on many trust assumptions.

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GHO Introducing RWA

The Aave team views their stablecoin GHO as a key tool for introducing RWA into the Aave ecosystem. Post the release of Aave V4, the team plans to focus on innovative solutions based on RWA-related products, with the design utilizing GHO.

Currently in the ideation phase, the Aave team will collaborate with Chainlink on this feature.

Aave Network

The Aave team anticipates developing an Aave Network, serving as the primary hub for Aave and GHO, while maintaining a multi-chain protocol.

The network is envisioned to serve various purposes, meeting common demands from Aave users. For instance, the network could act as the primary voting network for Aave Governance V3 and a central hub for Aave's cross-chain strategy, building existing products on its app chain.

Recommended Read: Explaining Aave Governance Module V3 Features and Process in Detail
Reason for Recommendation: Aave's governance module, Aave Governance V3, is a relatively mature cross-chain governance tool within the blockchain ecosystem, enabling trustless cross-chain governance and code updates, which is quite intriguing.

While Ethereum will remain a key settlement for Aave DAO and governance, the Aave Network could offer more potential use cases and benefits, such as:

• Charging with GHO: Using Validium on the Aave Network can facilitate economically efficient micropayments to enhance user experience.
• Integrating Aave V4 Liquidity: Integrating Aave V4 liquidity into the network provides developers with easier access.
• AAVE Staking: Validators on the network can be required to stake AAVE tokens, enhancing token utility.

The Aave team will monitor the technical developments of future L1 and L2 networks before deciding on how to implement the Aave Network.