A months-long governance dispute within the Aave community has come to an end with the approval of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, a landmark decision that grants AAVE token holders full control over protocol revenue. The proposal, deemed the most significant in Aave's history by its founder Stani Kulechov, establishes a framework that redirects all revenue from Aave-branded products back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token.
This shift in control means the DAO will now be responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation approved to support Aave Labs. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, manages 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 emerged in December when it was discovered that swap fees had been quietly redirected away from the community treasury.
The proposal decisively favors token holders, ensuring that protocol revenue, which reached $140 million in 2025, will be supplemented by application-layer revenue from various Aave products. The ambition lies in the application layer, with Aave App aiming to provide a 'fintech-like experience' for mainstream users, complete with $1 million account protection per user and a card that generates fees for the treasury.
The proposal takes a firm stance against 'value leakage,' ensuring that service providers build exclusively for Aave and adhere to measurable goals. Governance process improvements are planned to reduce friction, while technical advancements, such as Aave V4's reinvestment feature and new 'Spokes,' will expand collateral options and create additional revenue streams. With roughly $25 billion in total value locked, Aave is the largest lending protocol in DeFi, and the approved proposal positions it for further growth, with a stated target of scaling from $40 billion to $1 trillion.