Getting liquidated on Aave means losing part of your collateral to a forced sale, plus a liquidation penalty. The good news: it's almost always avoidable if you understand one number — the health factor.
What is the health factor?
The health factor measures how safe your borrowing position is:
Health factor = (collateral value × liquidation threshold) ÷ total borrowed
- Above 1.0 — your position is safe.
- Exactly 1.0 — you're at the liquidation point.
- Below 1.0 — your collateral can be liquidated by anyone.
A health factor of 1.5 or higher is a comfortable buffer. Below 1.2, you're in danger.
Why positions get liquidated
It usually isn't borrowing too much on day one — it's price movement afterwards:
- Your collateral (e.g. ETH) drops in price → health factor falls.
- Or the asset you borrowed rises in price → debt grows relative to collateral.
- The health factor crosses 1.0 → liquidators repay your debt and seize collateral.
Five ways to avoid liquidation
- Borrow conservatively. Keep your health factor well above 1.5, not hovering at 1.1.
- Use stable collateral. Borrowing against volatile assets is riskier than against stablecoins.
- Set alerts. Most people get liquidated simply because they weren't watching.
- Keep a repayment reserve. Hold spare stablecoins ready to repay or top up collateral fast.
- Watch correlated moves. A market-wide crash hits collateral and debt at the same time.
Never miss a warning again
The hardest part is watching 24/7 — liquidations happen at 3 a.m. just as easily as midday.
Mo'Stash monitors your Aave health factor continuously and sends a push notification before you reach the danger zone — at thresholds you configure (e.g. warning at 1.3, danger at 1.1). You get time to repay or add collateral instead of waking up to a liquidated position.