In a significant development, the Aave community has voted in favor of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, which marks a major milestone in the platform's history. The proposal, deemed the most important in Aave's history by founder Stani Kulechov, establishes a framework that channels 100% of revenue from all Aave-branded products back to the DAO, effectively consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token. This move means that the DAO will now be responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with the proposal approving a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation to Aave Labs. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, manages the Aave lending protocol and allows token holders to vote on key decisions such as upgrades, fees, and treasury use.
The 'Aave Will Win' proposal resolves a dispute that arose 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 Aave Pro, Aave App, Horizon, and Aave Kit. The application layer is expected to drive growth, with Aave App targeting mainstream users with a 'fintech-like experience' and a card launch that will generate fees for the treasury.
The proposal also takes a hard line against 'value leakage,' ensuring that service providers build exclusively for Aave and adhere to measurable goals. On the technical side, Aave V4's reinvestment feature and new 'Spokes' are expected to create additional revenue streams and expand collateral options. With roughly $25 billion in total value locked across multiple chains, Aave is poised for significant growth, with Kulechov's stated target being to scale from $40 billion to $1 trillion and position Aave as a financial network that any fintech, bank, or asset manager can plug into.