The Aave community has passed the 'Aave Will Win' proposal, a landmark decision that marks a significant shift in the protocol's revenue management. The proposal, deemed the most important in Aave's history, redirects 100% of revenue from all Aave-branded products back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token. This move effectively makes the DAO responsible for funding Aave Labs' activities, with a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation approved to support Aave Labs.
The decision resolves a dispute that began in December when delegates discovered that swap-related fees had been quietly shifted 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. The proposal also takes a hard line against 'value leakage,' ensuring that service providers build exclusively for Aave and prioritize token holders' interests.
With this decision, Aave is poised to scale its operations, targeting mainstream users with a 'fintech-like experience' and expanding its collateral options and DeFi liquidity. The protocol's annual revenue, which reached $140 million in 2025, is expected to grow, positioning Aave as a leading financial network in the DeFi space.