Framework Ventures and Three Arrows Capital announced Wednesday a $3 million investment in Aave, the firm behind the third-largest lending platform in decentralized finance (DeFi).

• The two funds purchased Aave’s native LEND tokens directly from the company. LEND has appreciated 1,200% on a year-to-date basis.
• “We believe there will be a significant market shift of private borrow/lend activity moving to decentralized money market protocols,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said in a statement. “Aave stands to significantly benefit from this underlying shift.”
• The total value locked (TVL) on Aave is currently $218.6 million, according to DeFi Pulse. The top lending protocol, Compound, has $695.4 million worth of crypto assets “locked in” to its system.
• Aave’s TVL has spiked with the rest of the DeFi market since the general upturn began following the release of Compound's COMP token on June 15. The value of assets locked on Aave is up over 250% since mid-June.
• Aave sits in a similar place in the market to Compound, but offers more assets for deposits and borrows. Compound currently lists nine; Aave lists 17.
• “Our focus has always been innovation and diligent risk management,” Aave founder Stani Kulechov said in a statement.

Read more: First Mover: Twelve-Fold Gains for Aave’s LEND Token Might Be More Than DeFi Hype

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