Aave has expanded its Web3 plans following the acquisition of social metaverse company Sonar. DeFi protocols have been expanding their Web3 focus in recent months.
Aave is joining other DeFi protocols in expanding its Web3 plans following its acquisition of Sonar. Aave’s acquisition of Sonar was announced on Dec. 5, the latter being a company that works on a metaverse and NFTs. Its social mobile metaverse allows players to “build worlds and interact with user-created spaces using NFTs.”
With the acquisition complete, Sonar plans to integrate Lens Protocol. Several members of Sonar will join Aave with the intention of helping to develop mobile social applications and other Web3 consumer applications. Sonar co-founders Ben South Lee and Randolph Lee will join Aave as SVP of Product and Design and Principal Engineer, respectively.
It marks a major move by Aave to further enter the Web3 space, which has seen a lot of companies do the same. The Web3 niche has become the new trend in the market, and companies are eager to capitalize. The crypto winter has also forced many to turn their attention to areas for growth potential.
Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov revealed that its social media and mobile app strategy was important. Kulechov said that the Sonar team joining Lens would “accelerate our social media and mobile app strategy.”
DeFi Protocols Turn to Web3 During Bear Market
Aave is far from the only DeFi protocol moving deeper into the Web3 space. Uniswap, to much fanfare, launched support for non-fungible token (NFTs), allowing users to trade NFTs through several marketplaces. The exchange is also offering gas rebates for the first 22,000 new users, as well as airdropping $5 million to historical Genie users.
It’s a sign of the times that well-established DeFi protocols are expanding their offerings. The bear market has changed the nature of the market and forced platforms to tap into emerging spaces. Companies in the space have shown better growth during the bear market. It’s clear that existing platforms see potential as well.
Aave V3 to Launch Soon
Aave has been making progress in general development as well. The Aave community is preparing for the launch of the Aave Protocol V3, which offers flexibility and security during volatile market conditions. Aave V3 introduces such features as Isolation Mode, Siloed Borrowing, and Supply Caps and Borrow Caps per asset. These features are useful during risky market conditions.
The launch comes as Aave has had to defend against attacks related to volatility risks. The protocol temporarily suspended some lending markets to prevent market manipulation.
