Grayscale Removes AERO from DeFi Fund
Grayscale removed AERO from its DeFi Fund on May 7, 2026, replacing it with Ethena (ENA) in its quarterly portfolio rebalance. AERO surged nearly 11% in 24 hours following the announcement, with trading volume exploding 98% to $29.26 million.
The move triggered $12.71K in short liquidations without any long liquidations, indicating concentrated pressure on bearish positions. The token broke out of a multi-month accumulation range between $0.307 and $0.44, with the RSI at 65.34 suggesting strengthening momentum without being overbought.
Price Performance and Market Metrics
AERO is currently trading at $0.5271, representing a 1% increase from 24 hours ago and 18% up from one week ago. The market cap stands at $491.62M, with a fully diluted valuation of $997.29M.
In the past 24 hours, Aerodrome Finance recorded $149,513 in fees and $135,412 in project revenue.
Upcoming Cross-Chain Expansion
The most significant confirmed catalyst is the planned Q2 2026 launch of "Aero," a unified DEX merging Aerodrome (Base) and Velodrome (Optimism), with expansion to Ethereum mainnet and Circle's Arc blockchain, powered by the new MetaDEX03 operating system. The upgrade is designed to boost protocol revenue and Total Value Locked (TVL) by accessing a much larger capital pool.
Smart Money Accumulation
Hypersphere Ventures deployed nearly $680K into AERO in late April 2026, coinciding with a 50.77% surge in Smart Money balances and a decline in tokens held on exchanges. The protocol's Public Goods Fund also executes periodic buyback-and-lock initiatives, removing tokens from circulation.
Token Unlock Schedule
AERO's next token unlock is scheduled for May 21, which will release 6 AERO tokens ($2.74) for Rebase, representing 0.00000032% of the total supply.