Is Aave a scam?
LOW RISK · 15/100Aave (AAVE) has an automated risk score of 15/100 — low risk. No single factor dominates Aave's assessment — the score reflects several converging measurements. Down 82% from its all-time high — a major sustained decline. Volume at 13.6% of market cap — within normal range.
Automated assessment · updated 31 August 2026
Aave
aaveLOW RISK$120.98
-4.85% (24h)
updating live price…
Risk Assessment
Risk Score
LOW RISK
Driven primarily by drawdown from all-time high (14 of 25 points). Every contributing factor is itemised below.
measured 2026-08-31 · 7 factors evaluated
Here is what the public data shows about Aave, ordered by how strongly each factor contributes to the score:
- Drawdown From All-Time High: Down 82% from its all-time high — a major sustained decline.
- Volume Anomaly: Volume at 13.6% of market cap — within normal range.
These are automated, opinion-based indicators from public data — not financial advice or an allegation of wrongdoing. See our methodology.
Risk Factor Breakdown
Each factor is scored independently and weighted to calculate the total risk score.
Drawdown From All-Time High
Price Action
14/25
56%
How far the price sits below its peak. Deep drawdowns are common to abandoned and post-collapse tokens, but also to assets in a prolonged bear market — on its own this measures price history, not conduct.
Volume Anomaly
Trading Signals
1/20
5%
Abnormal volume-to-market-cap ratio is the primary indicator of wash trading or liquidity traps
Not contributing (5): Market Cap Risk, Supply Structure, Price Volatility, On-Chain Holder Concentration, Transparency Gaps — 0 points.
Key Metrics
Protect Yourself
- • Never invest more than you can afford to lose entirely
- • Check token concentration — if top 10 wallets hold >50%, be cautious
- • Verify the team is public and doxxed
- • Read the smart contract audit before buying
- • Be wary of unrealistic APY promises
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Community Comments
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What the contract allows
Ethereum · measured 2026-09-12
Our contract source did not report on any of the 7 owner privileges we check for. What it did return for Aave is below — treat the unreported checks as unknown, not as absent.
Contract is upgradeable (proxy)
The logic behind this token can be replaced after deployment. This is a standard pattern used by many established protocols; it means a review of today’s code does not bind tomorrow’s.
Not answered by our source: change any wallet balance, pause all transfers, blacklist wallets, mint new tokens, ownership can be reclaimed after renouncing, contract has a hidden owner, contract can self-destruct. Treat these as unknown, not as absent.
Source code: published and verified, so the deployed bytecode can be independently reviewed.
Contract analysis from GoPlus Labs · verify on-chain. An upgradeable contract can change after this reading.
How we counted holders here
Ten largest wallets
43.0%
including custodial
Largest private wallets
21.5%
after excluding 5
5 of Aave’s ten largest holders are labelled exchange, market-maker, treasury or vesting, liquidity-pool, staking, bridge, multisig or burn addresses — supply that is custodied, pooled or destroyed rather than sitting in one person’s wallet. Separating them out moves the top-10 figure by 21.5 points. We report the private-wallet figure because that is the supply someone can actually choose to sell today.
Wallets excluded from the top 10
| Address | Classified as | Label | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x4da2…70f5 | Staking contract | Aave · Aave: Staked Aave (stkAAVE) | 15.51% |
| 0x25f2…6491 | Treasury, vesting or foundation | Aave · Aave: Ecosystem Reserve | 3.59% |
| 0xf977…acec | Exchange wallet | Binance 8 | 3.13% |
| 0x5a52…efcb | Exchange wallet | Binance · Binance 28 | 3.13% |
| 0x47ac…d503 | Exchange wallet | Binance: Binance-Peg Tokens | 2.50% |
Classification applied to the 100 holder records returned for this contract; 82 remained after exclusions · measured 2026-08-31. Custodial wallets are identified by public address labels, so an unlabelled one may still be counted as private — this correction is a floor, not a guarantee.
Aave holder-concentration history
12 daily measurements · +0.3 pts over the period
FraudCoins.com has measured the share of Aave’s supply held by its top 10 non-exchange wallets on 12 days since 18 Jul 2026. The highest reading was 21.7% on 23 Aug 2026; the most recent reading is 21.5% on 31 Aug 2026.
Composite risk score (0–100)
Recorded measurements (12)
| Date measured | Top 10 hold | Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| 21.5% | No | |
| 21.5% | No | |
| 21.5% | No | |
| 21.6% | No | |
| 21.7% | No | |
| 21.6% | No | |
| 21.5% | No | |
| 21.6% | No | |
| 21.5% | No | |
| 21.4% | No | |
| 21.3% | No | |
| 21.2% | No |
Each row is an automated measurement taken on the date shown, using public on-chain holder data with burn and labelled exchange, staking, bridge and liquidity wallets excluded. Historical readings describe what our model measured on that date — they are not statements about the project’s conduct then or now, and are not financial advice.
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Frequently asked questions about Aave
Is Aave a scam?
We do not allege that Aave (AAVE) is a scam, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone associated with it. What we can tell you is what we measured: Its ten largest private wallets hold 21.5% of supply (exchange, staking, bridge and burn addresses excluded). That places it at 15/100 on our automated scale, which we label low risk. A high score means the asset has structural characteristics that have historically preceded losses — not that fraud has occurred. These are automated, opinion-based indicators from public market and on-chain data — not statements of fact, financial advice, or allegations of wrongdoing.
Why is Aave flagged as low risk?
Aave's risk score is driven mainly by: drawdown from all-time high — Down 82% from its all-time high — a major sustained decline; volume anomaly — Volume at 13.6% of market cap — within normal range.
Who controls Aave's supply?
On-chain data shows the top 10 holders of Aave hold 21.5% of the supply (burn and labelled exchange, staking and liquidity wallets excluded). This is shown for transparency and sits below our 50% manipulation-flag threshold.
Is Aave safe to buy?
FraudCoins.com does not give buy or sell recommendations, and no cryptocurrency is safe. Aave scores 15/100 (low risk) on our automated risk model. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.