Crypto whales are back, this time accumulating AAVE, the native token of the decentralized lending platform. This buying spree follows a massive 40% rally over the last seven days.

AAVE is currently trading at $137.93, outperforming all other altcoins in the top 100. Despite this surge, analysis suggests that a retracement may not happen anytime soon.

Better Days Ahead for the DeFi Token

According to Lookonchain, a whale bought over 50,000 AAVE tokens valued at $6.65 million on August 21. Just hours earlier, another whale purchased 11,101 tokens worth $1.45 million.

Crypto whales can greatly influence prices by buying tokens in large quantities. For example, if whales dump a large amount of cryptocurrency, the price often drops. On the other hand, accumulation by whales usually puts upward pressure on prices.

In AAVE’s case, this whale activity is noteworthy, as two other market participants purchased $3.02 million worth of tokens on August 20. These purchases bring the total AAVE accumulated in two days to $12.02 million. Based on the trends mentioned earlier, these recent buys could push the token’s price higher.

In addition, Open Interest (OI) for Aave has surged since August 13. On that date, OI was below $45 million. As of now, it has jumped to $153.94 million, marking the highest level since August 2023.

Open Interest represents the total of all open contracts in the derivatives market. The rising OI indicates that traders are committing more funds to AAVE-related contracts.

If OI had decreased, it would suggest traders were closing positions and withdrawing money. Historically, if the spot market doesn’t drive buying pressure, increased OI can push prices upward. Thus, the DeFi token’s price boost seems fueled by both the spot and derivatives markets.

Read more: How To Use Aave?

AAVE Price Prediction: Higher Values Next

Despite the cryptocurrency’s impressive performance, AAVE is still down 79% from its all-time high. However, BeInCrypto highlights a key development on the weekly chart.

AAVE has broken above a two-year accumulation range between $112 and $130, as shown in the image below. Since 2022, the token struggled to break past this range successfully.

If AAVE’s price continues rising, it could climb toward $280 this cycle for the first time since the bear market. While this might not happen immediately, the prediction suggests it could materialize by late 2024 or early 2025.

On the daily time frame, bulls’ defense of the support at $91.04 seems to have played a crucial role in pushing the price higher. Also, the significant buying pressure was vital in helping to break past the resistance at $106.70.

Currently, the On Balance Volume (OBV) is also rising. This technical indicator uses the volume to measure buying and selling pressure in the market. When it drops, it means that the selling volume is higher than the buying volume.

Therefore, since the indicator increased, it signifies bullish dominance, aiming to push AAVE’s price higher. Should buying pressure increase, the next level for the token to reach might be around $153.64. 

Read more: AAVE Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

However, a rise in profit-taking or a drop in whale accumulation could invalidate this prediction. If this is the case, the value of AAVE might decline to $122.28.