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Aave is experiencing another aggressive expansion in trading activity as AAVE pushes toward $190. The token was trading around $185–$186 on Oct. 2, gaining roughly 13% over 24 hours and more than 26% over seven days, according to the supplied market data. Futures volume reached approximately $1.09 billion, while open interest climbed to about $535 million.

Aave crosses a key threshold

The increase is not occurring without fundamental catalysts. Aave Labs reported on Oct. 1 that Aave V4 surpassed $1 billion in deposits during September and expanded to Arc and Base. The Base deployment also introduced an Equities Hub where tokenized Coinbase equities can serve as collateral.

AAVE's tokenomics provide another part of the explanation. The Aave DAO currently operates a buyback program with a $50 million annual budget, purchasing between $250,000 and $1.75 million of AAVE weekly depending on market conditions. Recent discussion around potentially adding a token-burning mechanism to Aavenomics has given traders another scarcity narrative to price in, although no formal burn proposal or schedule has been established.

Bearish market positions arise

Derivatives appear to be amplifying the move. The supplied Coinglass data shows roughly $3.82 million in AAVE liquidations over 24 hours, of which approximately $3.26 million came from shorts. That imbalance indicates that rising prices forced bearish positions out of the market, potentially adding compulsory buying on top of organic demand.

Technically, AAVE has now extended far beyond its major moving averages. The daily chart shows an almost uninterrupted sequence of higher highs since the September recovery around $120, culminating in a spike toward $188. Volume also expanded sharply alongside the breakout, supporting the move rather than leaving it as a low-liquidity price excursion.

There is a trade-off, however. The RSI is approaching the overbought region and AAVE has risen more than 100% over 90 days according to the supplied data. After such an acceleration, $190 becomes the immediate psychological barrier, followed by $200. On the downside, the former breakout area around $170–$175 is the first important zone to watch.

For now, the volume increase reflects a combination of V4 growth, improving tokenomics expectations, broader altcoin demand and a substantial short squeeze rather than one isolated catalyst.