The prolonged governance dispute within the Aave community has come to an end with the passing of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, a landmark decision that redirects all revenue from Aave-branded products back to the DAO and consolidates economic rights under the AAVE token. This significant shift 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 for Aave Labs.
The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, has effectively resolved the controversy surrounding the redirection of swap fees away from the community treasury. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal decisively favors token holders, supplementing protocol revenue with application-layer revenue from Aave Pro, Aave App, Horizon, and Aave Kit. With protocol revenue expected to match the $140 million generated in 2025, the proposal aims to prevent 'value leakage' and ensure service providers build exclusively for Aave, with measurable goals and improved governance processes.
The technical roadmap includes Aave V4's reinvestment feature, new 'Spokes' to expand collateral options, and investments in agentic AI infrastructure for developers. As the largest lending protocol in DeFi, Aave aims to scale from $40 billion to $1 trillion, positioning itself as a financial network for fintech, banks, and asset managers.