Aave: From Chaos to… Maybe Not Chaos?

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So, Aave Labs has done a bit of a backtrack. A full-on 180, if you will. Following a governance vote that seemed to cause more upset than a dropped ice cream cone on a hot day 🍦, they’ve decided to, well, share a little of the wealth. It’s a move that’s about as surprising as finding out your socks don’t match.

On January 2nd, Stani Kulechov, the chap in charge of Aave Labs (the biggest builders in this particular digital sandbox), announced they’ll be sharing revenue with those who hold the AAVE token. Quite a generous gesture, assuming, of course, there is any revenue to share. 🤔

“Given the recent conversations in the community, at Aave Labs we are committed to sharing revenue generated outside the protocol with token holders.”

He then added, with a straight face, that “token alignment was important.” Oh, it was important, was it? After… everything? They’ll be following this up with a proper proposal. Because what’s more reassuring than a promise of a proposal? 🙄

And, because why not throw another issue into the mix, he promised to address the whole branding/intellectual property ownership thing – which, incidentally, was also a major point of contention in the earlier vote. It’s all just so…tidy.

Reactions to Aave Labs’ U-turn

You see, back in December, the DAO (that’s the group representing the token holders – the actual people with a stake in this) accused Aave Labs of… let’s just say “holding out” on potential revenue. A polite way of saying they thought Aave Labs was being a bit greedy. 💸

The DAO then said “Right, we want naming rights, the brand, the whole shebang! And share the revenue!” Kulechov and Aave Labs, however, were having none of it and voted the whole thing down. The result? AAVE’s price took a tumble, dropping nearly 20

But now Kulechov’s done a U-turn – which sparked some cautious optimism. Simon Dedic, a fellow in the VC world (MoonRock Capital, if you’re keeping score) declared this a positive sign for the future of crypto. Apparently, tokens slowly turning into “onchain equity” is a good thing. Who knew? 🤷

Another wise soul, simply known as Tochi, added that this would mean more token usefulness and, crucially, clarity. “Revenue generated outside Aave protocol ends up in token ownership.” Remarkable.

Even Marc Zeller of the Aave Chan Initiative – who was pretty vocal in his opposition to Kulechov during the initial vote – grudgingly admitted it was a step in the “right direction.” Though, he has a list of things that still need sorting, naturally. Someone’s a perfectionist.

AAVE price rebounds

Predictably, the AAVE price did a little happy dance, jumping 10

Final Thoughts 

  • Aave Labs ate some humble pie after voting down the token alignment suggestion in December.
  • The community seemed pleased with the change, but the whole brand ownership question…still looms.

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2026-01-03 14:20