The Aave community has voted in favor of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, a landmark framework that redirects 100% of revenue from all 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 started when swap fees were redirected away from the DAO treasury.
The proposal, deemed the most important in Aave's history by founder Stani Kulechov, ensures that the DAO is now responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation approved. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, manages the Aave lending protocol, allowing token holders to vote on key decisions. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal resolves a controversy that exposed a deeper tension over control of the protocol's valuable assets.
With this proposal, protocol revenue, which reached $140 million in 2025, will be supplemented by application-layer revenue from Aave Pro, Aave App, Horizon, and Aave Kit. The application layer is expected to generate significant revenue, with Aave App targeting mainstream users and swaps on Aave.com and Aave Pro already producing $10 to $20 million in additional revenue.
The proposal also takes a hard line against 'value leakage,' ensuring that service providers build exclusively for Aave and prioritize token holders. Technical improvements, including 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 community is targeting significant growth, aiming to scale from $40 billion to $1 trillion and position Aave as a financial network for fintech, banks, and asset managers.