A user suffered an estimated $50 million loss attempting to swap a single token on the Aave platform. The trade, a $50 million aEthUSDT for aEthAAVE swap via the CoW Protocol, experienced over 99% slippage, leaving the user with only about $36,000. Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated the interface issued explicit warnings about the high slippage, which the user confirmed before proceeding. The platform plans to reimburse the user approximately $600,000 in accrued fees as a goodwill gesture.
A substantial decentralized finance loss occurred when a user lost roughly $50 million in a single token swap. Blockchain data shows the wallet attempted to trade $50.4 million of aEthUSDT for aEthAAVE using CoW Protocol.
The transaction resulted in over 99% slippage, yielding only about $36,000 worth of aEthAAVE. This demonstrates the extreme price impact of extremely large orders in illiquid markets.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated the platform gave multiple warnings before the transaction. “Given the unusually large size of the single order, the Aave interface, like most trading interfaces, warned the user about extraordinary slippage and required confirmation via a checkbox,” he explained.
Kulechov noted the user saw these warnings on mobile and proceeded with the high-risk trade. He confirmed the transaction could not proceed without explicit risk acceptance from the user.
While the protocol functioned correctly, Kulechov acknowledged the outcome was “clearly far from optimal.” The platform intends to reimburse the affected user with around $600,000 in fees accumulated on the transaction.
The incident follows another market event earlier in the week involving a $27 million liquidation. These consecutive events highlight the inherent risks present in decentralized finance markets.
