AAVE could dip below $180 despite SEC news: check forecast

AAVE has been one of the worst performers among the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap in recent weeks.

The coin has lost 1.8% of its value in the last 24 hours and is now trading at $183 per coin.

The bearish performance comes after AAVE lost a key resistance level.

Derivatives positioning and momentum indicators suggest that sellers continue to dominate in the near term despite positive news from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

SEC’s closure of Aave investigation fails to spur price

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AAVE is down by nearly 2% in the last 24 hours and could record further losses in the near term.

This negative performance comes despite Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of the Aave protocol, announcing via X on Tuesday that the US SEC has concluded its 4-year investigation.

According to Kulechov, the DeFi ecosystem has faced unfair regulatory pressure in recent years.

However, the end of this investigation will see Aave and the broader DeFi ecosystem enter a new era where developers can truly build the future of finance.

@StaniKulechov

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After four years, we are finally ready to share that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol. This process demanded significant effort and resources from our team, and from me personally as the founder, to protect Aave, its ecosystem, and DeFi more

5:16 PM · Dec 16, 2025

While this news could positively impact AAVE in the long term, the cryptocurrency has failed to respond in the near term.

The closure of the investigation eliminates a key regulatory uncertainty, strengthens investor confidence, and allows the protocol to focus on growth and adoption without the legal overhang.

In addition to that, AAVE’s derivatives data shows that the bears are currently in control of the market. AAVE’s declining open interest on Binance currently stands at $56.60 million, near its yearly low.

The declining OI indicates that traders are closing their positions, with speculative interest in the cryptocurrency also fading. At the moment, new buyers are not entering the market.

AAVE could retest the $170 support

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The AAVE/USD 4-hour chart is bearish and inefficient as the coin has underperformed in the last few days.

AAVE was rejected from the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $198.64 last week and has lost 10% of its value since then.

At press time, AAVE is trading at $183 after failing to defend the $186 support level. If AAVE continues its downtrend, it could retest the next daily support at $179.27.

If the bearish trend continues and AAVE closes its daily candle below $179, it could extend the correction toward the weekly support at $160.51.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 41, below the neutral level, suggesting early bearish momentum.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) lines are within the bearish region, adding more confluence to the sell.

However, if the bulls regain control of the market. AAVE could advance towards the previous resistance level at $198.64.