
- Substantial unstaking of ETH triggered by Aave interest rate rise.
- Community closely monitoring stETH–ETH peg and Aave utilization rates.
- Whales’ actions significantly impact market liquidity and stETH valuation.

620,000 ETH was unexpectedly unstaked due to a surge in Aave interest rates on July 23, 2025, causing industry-wide financial consequences.
The Unstaking Incident
The surge in Aave’s interest rates prompted a massive unstaking of 620,000 ETH. This was driven by the deleveraging actions of major stakeholders. Primary sources and KOLs confirmed this significant activity through social media analysis and on-chain data observations. The influential entities involved include Aave, a prominent decentralized lending protocol, Lido’s stETH, and significant “whale” investors. These actors played pivotal roles in initiating substantial Aave withdrawals which reduced the available supply of ETH and led to subsequent market effects.
“The recent queue of 620,000 ETH for unstaking may be due to giant whales withdrawing ETH deposits from Aave, leading to a surge in the utilization rate and borrowing costs. Deleveraging then forced stETH into the withdrawal queue, with stETH now unpegged by 0.3%,” said darkpools, a Crypto Analyst.
Market Consequences
Immediate effects include a notable increase in Aave’s ETH pool utilization rates, prompting soaring borrow rates and forced deleveraging. This event impacts stETH, resulting in a 0.3% deviation from its ETH peg, highlighting liquidity risks. Financially, the unstaking affected the total value locked in DeFi protocols, potentially causing liquidity shrinkage in secondary markets and a price pressure on ETH.
Regulatory Perspective
From a regulatory perspective, no formal statements have been issued by major regulatory bodies. Cryptanalytic comments suggest prolonged withdrawal queues, posing additional risks of forced liquidation. Historical comparisons to similar events, like the past depegs, indicate severe but necessary adjustments within decentralized finance to manage such exposures.
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