The Aave community has voted in favor of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, a framework that redirects all revenue from Aave-branded products back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token. This move marks the end of a months-long governance dispute that began when swap fees were redirected away from the DAO treasury. The proposal, deemed the most important in Aave's history, establishes the DAO as the primary funding source for Aave Labs' activities.
A $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation have been approved to support Aave Labs. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, will oversee the protocol's upgrades, fees, and treasury use. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal resolves the controversy surrounding the integration of CoWSwap, which had quietly shifted swap-related fees away from the community treasury. The proposal decisively favors token holders, supplementing protocol revenue with application-layer revenue from Aave Pro, Aave App, Horizon, and Aave Kit.
The ambition lies in the application layer, with Aave App targeting mainstream users and generating fees for the treasury. The proposal takes a hard line against 'value leakage,' ensuring service providers build exclusively for Aave.
Technical advancements, including Aave V4's reinvestment feature and new 'Spokes,' will expand collateral options and address DeFi liquidity demands. With roughly $25 billion in total value locked, Aave aims to scale from $40 billion to $1 trillion, positioning itself as a financial network for fintech, banks, and asset managers.