A months-long governance battle within the Aave community has come to an end with the passing of the Aave Will Win proposal, which has been hailed as the most significant proposal in Aave's history. This proposal establishes a framework that redirects all revenue generated by Aave-branded products back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token. As a result, the DAO will now be responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with an initial $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation approved.
The Aave DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, serves as the community-run decision-making body for the protocol, allowing token holders to vote on key decisions. The passing of this 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 Aave Will Win 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. This move aims to prevent 'value leakage' and promotes a token-centric approach, with service providers required to build exclusively for Aave. The proposal also outlines plans for technical improvements, including the reinvestment feature in Aave V4 and the expansion of collateral options through 'Spokes.' With roughly $25 billion in total value locked, Aave is the largest lending protocol in DeFi, and this proposal positions it for further growth, with a target of scaling to $1 trillion and becoming a financial network that can be integrated with various fintech, banking, and asset management platforms.