The Aave community has put an end to a months-long governance dispute by voting in favor of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal. This proposal, deemed the most significant in Aave's history by founder Stani Kulechov, ensures that 100% of revenue from all Aave-branded products is redirected back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token.
As a result, the DAO will now be responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with an approved $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, oversees the Aave lending protocol, allowing token holders to vote on key decisions such as upgrades, fees, and treasury use. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal resolves a controversy that began in December when it was discovered that swap fees had been quietly redirected away from the community treasury. This move decisively favors token holders, with protocol revenue, which reached $140 million in 2025, now being supplemented by application-layer revenue from various Aave products.
The proposal also takes a firm stance against 'value leakage,' ensuring that service providers build exclusively for Aave and prioritize token holders. With a target of scaling from $40 billion to $1 trillion, Aave aims to become a comprehensive financial network that any fintech, bank, or asset manager can integrate into.