SKN | Aave Founder Sees $50 Trillion ‘Abundance Asset’ Boom Powering DeFi’s Next Phase

Key Points

• Aave founder Stani Kulechov says tokenizing “abundance assets” like solar energy could unlock a $50 trillion onchain collateral market by 2050.

• Most tokenized real-world assets today are scarce assets such as U.S. Treasuries and private credit, totaling about $25 billion.

• Kulechov argues energy, robotics and advanced manufacturing assets could deliver higher returns and significantly expand DeFi lending capacity.

The next wave of decentralized finance may not be driven by tokenized Treasuries or private credit, but by what Stani Kulechov calls “abundance assets”  scalable infrastructure sectors such as solar energy, batteries and robotics that could collectively represent a $50 trillion opportunity by mid-century.

Kulechov, founder of the decentralized lending platform Aave, said in a recent post that while scarce real-world assets will continue expanding onchain, the largest structural impact will come from tokenizing industries capable of exponential supply growth.

From Scarcity to Abundance

According to data from RWA.xyz, roughly $25 billion worth of real-world assets have been tokenized so far. The majority consists of U.S. Treasury bonds, private credit, commodities, equities and real estate — asset classes defined by limited supply and relatively predictable yield profiles.

Kulechov contends that this model represents only the early phase of tokenization. By 2050, he estimates that “abundance assets” could total $50 trillion in value, with solar energy alone accounting for $15 trillion to $30 trillion of that figure.

The thesis hinges on scalability. Unlike fixed-supply sovereign bonds or finite real estate portfolios, renewable energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing can expand rapidly as technology improves and costs decline.

“Capital is hungry for new collateral,” Kulechov wrote, arguing that onchain lending markets are uniquely positioned to channel funding into these sectors.

A New Class of Onchain Collateral

Under the proposed framework, a $100 million solar project could tokenize its debt and borrow $70 million through DeFi protocols, redeploying that capital into additional installations. Onchain lenders would gain exposure to diversified, yield-generating infrastructure assets rather than purely crypto-native collateral.

The model envisions capital cycling more efficiently. Investors could hold tokenized solar exposure for several years, exit at a profit and redeploy into new developments, compressing financing timelines and improving capital velocity.

Kulechov extended the concept to batteries for energy storage, robotics for labor automation, vertical farming and lab-grown food, semiconductor fabrication and 3D printing. Each sector shares a common trait: scalable supply potential tied to technological advancement.

If tokenized, these assets could serve as collateral within DeFi lending markets, expanding the range of instruments beyond stablecoins and volatile crypto tokens.

DeFi’s Growth Imperative

Aave currently holds approximately $27 billion in total value locked, according to DeFiLlama, making it the largest DeFi lending protocol by borrowing and lending volume. The platform’s most utilized assets remain crypto-native, including Tether’s USDt stablecoin, Ether and wrapped Ether.

However, Aave’s native token has struggled alongside broader market weakness. AAVE is down more than 15% year-to-date in 2026, reflecting the broader crypto downturn and risk-off sentiment.

For DeFi to scale meaningfully beyond its existing base, it must attract new forms of collateral and broader participation. Tokenized Treasuries have provided an initial bridge to traditional finance, but yields in sovereign debt markets remain constrained and competitive.

Kulechov argues that abundance assets could offer superior long-term returns compared to scarce financial instruments that face margin compression over time.

Strategic Outlook

The vision of a $50 trillion tokenized abundance economy is ambitious and long-dated, dependent on regulatory clarity, infrastructure reliability and institutional adoption. It also assumes that tokenization frameworks can handle complex real-world risk, credit assessment and compliance requirements.

Still, the proposal highlights a critical pivot for decentralized finance. To sustain growth, DeFi may need to evolve from a closed-loop crypto ecosystem into a capital allocation layer for real-world productive assets.

If even a fraction of global renewable energy, automation and advanced manufacturing financing migrates onchain, the scale of collateral available to DeFi lending protocols could expand dramatically — reshaping the industry’s growth trajectory over the coming decades.