Grayscale’s Aave ETF: Because Who Doesn’t Love a Good Financial Rollercoaster?

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Grayscale Investments, the financial wizards who somehow make crypto sound like a retirement plan, have filed with the SEC to turn their Aave Trust into an ETF. Because nothing says “stable investment” like a decentralized finance token, right?

Grayscale Jumps on the Aave Train, Because Why Not?

According to the filing, submitted on February 13, 2026 (yes, we’re still here in the future, and it’s still weird), the proposed fund would be called the Grayscale Aave Trust ETF. It’ll trade on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol GAVE, because nothing says “we’re serious about finance” like a ticker that sounds like a sassy retort. The ETF will let you dip your toes into AAVE, the token of the Aave DeFi protocol, without the hassle of actually understanding how it works. Win-win?

Here’s the kicker: there’s a 2.5% annual sponsor fee, payable in AAVE tokens. Because why earn money in boring old dollars when you can do it in a token that might or might not exist next year? Coinbase gets to play both custodian and prime broker, which is like being the babysitter and the party planner at the same time. Good luck, Coinbase!

Grayscale’s plan is to take their closed-end Aave trust, launched in late 2025 (remember 2025? Good times), and turn it into an ETF with a fancy creation and redemption mechanism. This is supposed to make the market price match the net asset value more closely. Because nothing says “financial innovation” like making things slightly less confusing.

Aave, built on Ethereum (the blockchain that’s basically the IKEA of crypto-complicated but somehow works), is a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol. AAVE tokens are used for governance, staking, and fee benefits. As of mid-February 2026, AAVE’s market cap is hovering around $1.8 billion, with the token trading between $120 and $127. Which is great, unless you’re the type of person who likes predictable investments. Then it’s just a headache.

Grayscale isn’t the first to jump on the Aave ETF bandwagon-Bitwise beat them to it in January 2026. But Grayscale’s approach is all about direct token holding, because why complicate things with derivatives or a blended portfolio? Unless, of course, you’re into that sort of thing.

Will the SEC approve this? Who knows! They’ve been pretty cautious about altcoin-based ETFs, sticking mostly to Bitcoin and Ethereum. But if it does get approved, it could mean more institutional investors dipping their toes into DeFi. Or, you know, just more chaos. Either way, popcorn sales are about to skyrocket.

FAQ ❓ (Because We Know You’re Confused)

  • What did Grayscale file with the SEC?
    A Form S-1 to turn their Aave trust into an ETF that holds AAVE tokens directly. Because why not?
  • What’s the ticker symbol?
    GAVE. Yes, it’s as sassy as it sounds.
  • What’s the fee?
    2.5% annually. In AAVE tokens, because why not add another layer of complexity?
  • Who’s holding the tokens?
    Coinbase. They’re basically the crypto nanny now.

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2026-02-16 20:57