The Aave community has put an end to a months-long governance fight by voting in favor of the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, which Aave founder Stani Kulechov calls 'the most important proposal in Aave's history'. This proposal establishes a framework that redirects all revenue from Aave-branded products back to the DAO and consolidates economic rights under the AAVE token. As a result, the DAO will now be responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation approved.
The Aave DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that oversees the Aave lending protocol, allowing token holders to make decisions on upgrades, fees, and treasury use. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal marks a significant shift towards a token-centric model, where the AAVE token is the central asset. The 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 new framework ensures that protocol revenue, which reached $140 million in 2025, will be supplemented by 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 that generates fees for the treasury. The proposal also takes a hard line against 'value leakage', requiring service providers to build exclusively for Aave and meet measurable goals. Technical improvements, including Aave V4's reinvestment feature and new 'Spokes', are planned to expand collateral options and increase revenue streams.
With roughly $25 billion in total value locked, Aave is the largest lending protocol in DeFi, and the $140 million annual revenue figure puts it alongside Uniswap and Lido as one of the few protocols generating nine-figure income. Kulechov's goal is to scale Aave from $40 billion to $1 trillion, positioning it as a financial network that any fintech, bank, or asset manager can plug into.