DeFi Q3 Earnings: @aave edition Q3 2026 revenue: $18.9M > Down 23% QoQ (Q2: $24.6M) > Down 50% from Q1 ($37.9M) > Lowest quarter of 2026 What happened: Q3 was the first full quarter after April's LayerZero hack, while Q2 still had a strong April. Protocol earnings fell $7.6M QoQ, and buybacks remain paused. What's improving: 1. Protocol earnings rose every month: $4.56M, $4.66M, $5.15M 2. Expenses down 32% QoQ to $14.9M, partly because Q2 carried a one-off $5.0M Aave Labs payment 3. Net income up 50% QoQ to $4.0M and rising every month, with margin up from 18.2% to 23.8% 4. Deposits up 41% to $33.6B, active loans up 32% to $13.2B (+9% at constant prices) What to watch in Q4: 1. V4 ramp: 10 spokes opened in Q3, and Cash already holds $311.5M, with Aave earning 20% of its revenue 2. Native BTC collateral via Babylon 3. Tokenized stocks growth on Base, live since Sep 29 4. Aave App and Aave Institutional 5. When buybacks restart *Figures exclude DeFi United. My read: Q3 was a quarter focused on rebuilding the foundations. Q4 is when the sauce starts. Data by TokenLogic.