Aave Labs Unveils Horizon: Institutional Stablecoin Borrowing Backed by Tokenized RWAs

• Horizon enables stablecoin loans backed by tokenized U.S. Treasurys and institutional funds.
• Launch partners include Circle, VanEck, Chainlink, WisdomTree, and more.
• Built on a permissioned Aave V3, Horizon targets compliant institutional DeFi adoption.
  

Aave Labs has officially launched Horizon, a new institutional platform designed to bring stablecoin borrowing to the world of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), such as U.S. Treasurys and collateralized loan obligations.

Institutional DeFi Infrastructure

The platform, built on a permissioned instance of Aave V3, provides qualified institutions with the ability to post tokenized securities as collateral and borrow stablecoins like USDC, RLUSD, and GHO. Horizon offers on-demand access, predictable liquidity, and 24/7 capital efficiency, while maintaining institutional-grade compliance standards.

Regulatory safeguards are embedded directly at the token level through issuer permissioning, while the stablecoin markets remain permissionless to ensure composability with broader DeFi systems.

“Horizon is built for the growth of tokenized real-world collateral, enabling lending and borrowing at institutional scale,” said Aave founder Stani Kulechov. “It delivers the infrastructure and deep stablecoin liquidity that institutions require to operate onchain, unlocking transparency and more efficient markets.”

Strategic Partnerships

The platform launched with an extensive network of partners, including Centrifuge, Superstate, Circle, RLUSD, Ant Digital Technologies, Ethena, KAIO, OpenEden, Securitize, VanEck, Hamilton Lane, WisdomTree, and Chainlink.

Chainlink’s SmartData infrastructure plays a central role, starting with Onchain NAV, which brings real-time net asset values for tokenized funds directly onchain. This integration enables automated, overcollateralized lending with live valuations. Chainlink also plans to extend its support with Proof of Reserves and SmartAUM for added transparency and auditability.

“Horizon is a very exciting new chapter in Aave’s development and really shows the next stage of the DeFi industry,” said Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink. “We’re proud to support Horizon’s secure, reliable, and institutionally connected design.”

Unlocking $25 Billion in Tokenized RWAs

With more than $25 billion in tokenized RWAs already onchain, Aave Labs argues that much of this value remains underutilized due to legacy infrastructure. Horizon aims to unlock utility and liquidity, allowing tokenized assets to function as real-time collateral for stablecoin loans.

At launch, supported collateral includes:

• Superstate Short Duration U.S. Government Securities Fund (USTB)
• Superstate Crypto Carry Fund (USCC)
• Circle’s Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund (USYC)
• Centrifuge’s JAAA and JTRSY
• VanEck’s VBILL tokenized treasury fund
  

“The true potential of RWAs isn’t just in tokenization, it’s in what you can do once those assets are onchain,” said Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati. “Horizon demonstrates how RWAs can gain utility, liquidity, and composability with purpose-built DeFi infrastructure.”

Expanding Aave’s Institutional Strategy

First revealed in March, Horizon not only introduces a new revenue stream for the Aave DAO, but also serves as the umbrella for Aave Labs’ broader RWA strategy — including future integrations with private markets and regulated finance.

Aave Labs, part of Avara, is also the developer behind the Aave decentralized lending protocol and the Aave-native stablecoin GHO.