Key Takeaways:
More than 343,000 ETH, worth $547 million, is sitting near liquidation thresholds across DeFi lending protocols on Ethereum, Lookonchain data shows.
Lookonchain flagged the exposure on June 5, showing the bulk of at-risk positions clustered between $1,362 and $1,566. With ETH trading near $1,554, some positions have almost no breathing room left.
The largest single position is 137,908 ETH at a liquidation threshold of $1,361.73 — roughly 40 percent of all at-risk ETH concentrated in one position. On Maker, 46,741 ETH faces liquidation at $1,565.72. On Aave V3, another 58,032 ETH is exposed at $1,555.04. Those two positions alone account for more than 104,000 ETH, about $166 million, that could be forcibly sold if the price ticks down a few dollars.
If ETH drops about 12 percent from current levels, the 137,908 ETH position gets unwound automatically. But the more immediate risk sits at $1,555 on Aave V3 and $1,565 on Maker — levels within a few dollars of where ETH trades. A similar alert in March 2025 flagged roughly $320 million in at-risk ETH across lending protocols. The current $547 million figure represents a 71 percent increase in exposure compared with that earlier episode.
When a borrower's collateral drops below the required ratio, smart contracts automatically sell that collateral on the open market. If multiple positions get liquidated simultaneously, the selling pressure can push prices lower, which triggers more liquidations in a cascade. No cascade liquidation has been confirmed yet.
The $1,362 to $1,566 range covers barely 15 percent of ETH's price, yet it contains essentially all of the flagged risk. The platforms holding the largest positions — Maker and Aave V3 — are two of DeFi's most battle-tested protocols. Both have survived previous liquidation cascades without protocol-level failures.
For investors with active DeFi loans, the $1,555 level on Aave V3 and $1,565 on Maker are the numbers to watch in the near term. If ETH holds above those levels, the immediate crisis passes. If it does not, roughly 104,000 ETH in forced selling hits the market before anyone has to worry about the 137,908 ETH position further down at $1,361. Adding collateral or partially repaying loans to push liquidation thresholds lower is the standard risk-management playbook.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
