Aave’s governance token (AAVE) faced heavy selling pressure Thursday, briefly dipping below the $270 level as high-volume trades accelerated its decline.

The DeFi bluechip dropped 5% in early U.S. trading, falling nearly 10% from this week’s high, before modestly recovering to around $272 later in the day. The decline coincided with a weak session across the broader cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin hovering near $120,000 and the CoinDesk 20 Index down more than 4%.

Technical Analysis
CoinDesk Research’s analysis highlighted bearish momentum for AAVE. Losing key support at $273 triggered additional selling, and subsequent recovery attempts failed, confirming sustained downward pressure.

Key indicators include:

• Trading volume surged to 63,651 units, well above the 24-hour average of 31,013 units.
• Resistance formed at $280, with failed recovery attempts reinforcing the bearish trend.
• The breakdown below critical support at $273 triggered algorithmic liquidations, compounding the sell-off.