Market-cap peers

AAVE vs PEPE

Aave and Pepe scored on the same 25 variables, ranked against the same 251 tokens, with every gap between them shown.

Scoring pass 18 Sept 2026. Market snapshot 7 Oct 2026.

AAVE score
156/250
18th of 251 · HOLD
PEPE score
92/250
184th of 251 · PASS
Variables won
21 to 2
2 level of 25
Framework prefers
AAVE
by 64 points
01

What separates them

AAVE scores 156 of 250 and ranks 18th of 251. PEPE scores 92 and ranks 184th. AAVE leads by 64 points, which is a wide enough margin that the framework is not ambivalent. AAVE takes 21 of the 25 variables, PEPE takes 2, and 2 are level.

The framework rates AAVE HOLD and PEPE PASS. Two tokens close enough to compare do not have to land in the same band, and where they do not, the divergence table below is where the split comes from.

5 variables separate them by 3 points or more. AAVE is clear on P/S Multiple (8 against 1), Protocol Revenue (7 against 1) and Institutional Adoption (8 against 2).

Both score 3 or below on TVL Trend. A weakness both sides share is not a reason to prefer either. It is a reason to check whether the category itself carries the problem.

AAVE is valued at $2.65B against $1.70B for PEPE, a 1.6x difference. The larger of the two also scores higher, so the market and the framework agree on the ordering here.

02

All 25 variables, head to head

Both tokens were scored by the same framework in the same pass, so the numbers are directly comparable. What a comparison adds over two separate pages is the gap: a 6 against a 6 is a non-event, a 9 against a 3 is the reason to hold one and not the other.

Cash flow

Cash flow variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
Protocol Revenue7
1AAVE +6
Revenue Trend5
1AAVE +4
P/S Multiple8
1AAVE +7
Real Staking Yield6
1AAVE +5

Supply

Supply variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
Supply Inflation9
6AAVE +3
Vesting Schedule9
6AAVE +3
Circulating / FDV Ratio9
8AAVE +1
Buyback and Burn4
1AAVE +3

Ownership

Ownership variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
Smart Money Flows7
4AAVE +3
Insider Selling6
4AAVE +2
Holder Concentration4
4level

Traction

Traction variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
TVL Trend3
1AAVE +2
Active Users6
5AAVE +1
Developer Activity4
1AAVE +3
Network Growth6
3AAVE +3

Position

Position variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
Market Share8
7AAVE +1
Competitive Moat7
4AAVE +3
Institutional Adoption8
2AAVE +6
Exchange Depth8
8level
Social Mindshare5
8PEPE +3

Risk

Risk variables compared between AAVE and PEPE
Regulatory Safety8
6AAVE +2
Catalyst Calendar7
3AAVE +4
BTC Alpha Potential2
5PEPE +3
Team Execution4
1AAVE +3
Treasury Runway6
1AAVE +5

Bars read outward from the centre: AAVE to the left, PEPE to the right. The side that leads a variable is filled. Each score is 1 to 10 against the same definition applied to all 251 rated tokens.

03

Market and supply

Market and supply figures for AAVE and PEPE
AAVEPEPE
Price$171.60$0.000004
Market cap$2.65B$1.70B
Circulating96.5%100%
Dilution to full supply1.04x1x
Off all-time high-74.1%-85.6%
To recover the high3.9x6.9x
Total value locked$14.49Bnot published
NetworkEthereumEthereum

Price, market cap and all-time high from the CoinGecko snapshot fetched 7 Oct 2026. Supply shares are derived from circulating and eventual supply counts, which do not move with price. The 25 scores come from the research pass dated 18 Sept 2026.

04

Catalyst and risk on each side

AAVE · HOLD

Catalyst

V4 multi-chain expansion, Grayscale/Bitwise ETF filings, CLARITY Act DeFi safe harbor, Horizon $1B target

Principal risk

KelpDAO bad debt resolution, Morpho $175M raise competitive threat, governance centralization (top 3 = 58% votes)

PEPE · PASS

Catalyst

Ethereum bull market amplification; PEPE as ETH meme equivalent to DOGE on BTC; high CEX liquidity

Principal risk

Zero protocol revenue or utility; 6% supply still to open from deployer wallet; pure sentiment asset; rapid drawdowns in risk-off environments

05

Common questions

Is AAVE or PEPE the better investment?
On this framework AAVE scores higher: 156 against 92 of 250, and it is rated HOLD against PASS. That is a ranking of fundamentals as recorded at the last scoring pass, not a price forecast, and AAVE still wins 21 of the 25 individual variables against PEPE.
What is the biggest difference between AAVE and PEPE?
P/S Multiple. AAVE scores 8 of 10 there and PEPE scores 1, a gap of 7 points on a single variable.
Which is bigger, AAVE or PEPE?
AAVE is valued at $2.65B and PEPE at $1.70B on the latest market snapshot.
06

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Research and analysis, not investment advice. A higher score is one framework applied consistently to 251 tokens, not a prediction that one asset will outperform the other.