Leading DeFi protocol Aave has announced the launch of the Horizon initiative aimed at creating institutional DeFi products. Protocol founder Stani Kulechov emphasized that it will expand the boundaries of decentralized finance.
Horizon: A New Approach to Institutional DeFi
Kulechov noted that integrating real-world assets into DeFi is necessary to bring institutions on-chain. Horizon plans to use the best of Aave’s technology stack to build products for institutions. According to an official statement from Aave Labs, the first Horizon product will allow tokenized money market funds to serve as collateral for borrowing stablecoins like USDC and GHO.
Licensing the Horizon Platform
Following the announcement, Aave Labs submitted a proposal to license an Aave Instance for the new platform. This licensed instance will serve as the foundation for all Horizon projects. Horizon is set to launch using Aave V3 before transitioning to Aave V4. The main features of the protocol include permissionless USDC and GHO usage, integration of approved RWA, and a permission management system for issuers.
Community Reaction to Horizon
Users pointed out both positive and negative aspects of the initiative. Some community members express concerns that creating a new Horizon token could dilute the value of the AAVE token. Despite this, Kulechov claims that the new initiative actually provides the highest revenue stream from all licensed projects.
The Horizon initiative has both support and skepticism within the Aave community. Its future implementation depends on adapting the proposal details to meet the needs of all stakeholders.