GHO is a US dollar pegged stablecoin created by Aave DAO, the community that governs the decentralized lending protocol Aave. It first launched on the Ethereum mainnet in July 2023.
Its name comes from the word ghost, a nod to Aave's ghost branding. Unlike stablecoins issued by a central company, its issuance rules are set through onchain governance.
GHO is overcollateralized. A user deposits crypto as collateral in an Aave market and borrows less GHO than the collateral is worth, which mints new GHO; repaying the loan burns it.
Minting rights belong to approved entities called facilitators, each with a borrowing cap set by governance. The GHO Stability Module (GSM), which swaps GHO one to one with other stablecoins, also helps keep the price near one dollar.
Data provided by CoinGecko
GHO has no fixed maximum supply, so supply grows and shrinks with borrowing demand. Circulation was reported in the hundreds of millions in 2026, and interest paid by borrowers goes to the Aave DAO treasury.
Through Chainlink CCIP it has expanded to networks such as Arbitrum and Base. In 2026 a savings product called sGHO was introduced, letting holders deposit GHO to earn interest.
Supporters point to its direct link with a major lending protocol and its transparent, governance-driven rules. Because revenue flows back to the DAO, it is closely tied to the wider Aave ecosystem.
However, GHO traded below one dollar for a period after launch, so the peg is not guaranteed. Smart contract bugs, liquidations when collateral values fall sharply, and the effects of governance decisions are also risks worth considering.
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