{ "id": 63381, "date": "2026-03-16T09:35:30", "date_gmt": "2026-03-16T02:35:30", "guid": { "rendered": "https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/aave-to-launch-aave-shield-after-50m-token-swap-mishap\/" }, "modified": "2026-03-16T09:35:30", "modified_gmt": "2026-03-16T02:35:30", "slug": "aave-to-launch-aave-shield-after-50m-token-swap-mishap", "status": "publish", "type": "post", "link": "https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/en_us\/aave-to-launch-aave-shield-after-50m-token-swap-mishap\/", "title": { "rendered": "Aave to launch ‘Aave Shield’ after $50M token swap mishap" }, "content": { "rendered": "
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Decentralized finance protocol Aave said it is introducing a new feature to block swaps with a price impact above 25% after a user lost $50 million in a trade while interacting with Aave\u2019s interface last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are soon deploying a new feature, Aave Shield, which provides more protections for users who use the swap feature in the Aave interface aave.com,\u201d Aave said<\/a> in a post-mortem statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Aave said users would need to manually disable the Aave Shield protection feature to proceed with high-risk trades.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred on Thursday, when the user went to convert $50.4 million<\/a> worth of USDt (USDT<\/a>) for Aave (AAVE<\/a>) via decentralized exchange CoW Swap<\/a>, but received only $36,500 worth of Aave due to a lack of liquidity and other infrastructure failures, generating a loss of just over $50 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of this loss was also a result of a Maximal Extractable Value<\/a> (MEV) bot that executed a sandwich attack on the user, profiting nearly $10 million.<\/p>\n

User ignored multiple warning signs<\/h2>\n

Aave said the user signed the transaction despite multiple warnings<\/a> appearing on the platform\u2019s interface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This included alerts about a \u201chigh price impact\u201d and a notice stating the route might return less due to low liquidity or small order size.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The user also ticked a confirmation box stating, \u201cI confirm the swap with a potential 100% value loss,\u201d Aave said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What the user would have seen on Aave\u2019s interface before signing the transaction. Source: <\/em>Aave<\/em><\/a>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Incident shows DeFi still needs work: CoW DAO\u00a0<\/h2>\n

While Aave and CoW DAO,<\/a> the team behind CoW Swap, said poor liquidity led to the \u201cextreme price impact,\u201d CoW DAO added that multiple infrastructure failures also played a role.<\/p>\n

CoW DAO said a solver \u2014 a third-party service that finds the best way to do a trade \u2014 was affected by an outdated gas limit, which blocked better-priced quotes and left only a much worse option for the user to consider.<\/p>\n