GHO is the native decentralised stablecoin of the Aave protocol, minted by users against collateral they supply to Aave and pegged to the US dollar. It is overcollateralised and burned on repayment, with stability managed by Aave governance through borrow rates and facilitators. GHO scores 71/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: it inherits Aave's mature, heavily audited lending infrastructure and deep liquidity, but its peg and solvency depend on collateral health, governance parameters and liquidations rather than a cash reserve. The yield shown reflects DeFi venues that pay to hold or supply GHO.
- Issuer / protocol
- Aave
- Backing
- Multi-collateral (via Aave lending positions)
- Redemption / lock-up
- None
- Audit & proof of reserves
- Independently audited
- Availability
- Global
- Chain
- Ethereum
- Tier
- Tier 3 — Secured DeFi
- Contract
- 0x40D1…a4b7
Scored on the published RWTS methodology (v1.1), reviewed quarterly and on material events. Ratings are independent and never pay-influenced.
Calculations are indicative. Actual yields may vary.
Price data from CoinGecko. Not financial advice.
Current yield of 5.53% sits at 34% of the observed range. There may be room for rates to improve.
Projections assume constant APY of 5.53%. Actual returns may vary. Not financial advice.
Overcollateralized; multiple audits; concentration in Aave borrowers.
Methodology v1.0 · independent rating · published rubric · no issuer payments
Minted by Aave borrowers against multi-asset collateral positions on Aave V3 (ETH, stETH, USDC, WBTC, etc.); maintains 150%+ collateralization via Aave's liquidation engine.
All GHO mints are tied to Aave borrower positions visible on-chain; Aave protocol metrics publicly reported (aave.com/dashboard) and regular protocol financial reports published; on-chain transparency + protocol-level reporting framework.
GHO can be repaid (burned) for collateral release at any time; instant 1:1 conversion to USDC via Aave PSM module (added 2024). Sub-minute end-to-end USDC convertibility.
One of DeFi's most-audited protocols: Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Sigma Prime, Peckshield, ABDK Consulting, Certora formal verification; active Immunefi top-tier bug bounty ($1M+ pool); ten years of Aave protocol operational hardening.
Aave Companies registered (UK); Aave DAO governs the protocol; UK Section 21 financial promotion approver in place; mixed registered-entity + DAO structure with published frameworks.
GHO launched July 2023 (~22 months as of May 2026). Initial price wobble below peg in early months addressed via PSM module deployment in 2024; price has held tight since. No fund losses or material incidents. Aave protocol itself live since 2017 with no material loss-of-funds incidents.
EARLY_PRICE_WOBBLE_RESOLVEDGHO traded below $1 peg during 2023-early 2024 launch period; Aave DAO deployed PSM module in 2024 to enforce 1:1 USDC convertibility. Peg has held tight since.
Caveats document operational realities that don't change the dimensional score but shape practical use.
Beyond GHO's own score, two structural questions matter: what is it built on, and what has broken before in this part of the market. A high score in isolation can still carry hidden, shared exposure.
What this and similar assets are built on, and where contagion could spread.
The depegs, defaults, and exploits that inform the Track Record dimension.
Liquidity read: TVL of $586.10M indicates healthy on-chain liquidity. Lock-up: None.