A significant governance vote has concluded, with the Aave community supporting a proposal that redirects all revenue from Aave-branded products back to the DAO, consolidating economic rights under the AAVE token. This move signifies a shift in responsibility, with the DAO now funding Aave Labs' activities, including a $25 million stablecoin grant and 5,000 AAVE token allocation. The Aave DAO, a community-run decision-making body, manages the Aave lending protocol, allowing token holders to vote on key decisions such as upgrades, fees, and treasury use. The 'Aave Will Win' proposal resolves a controversy that emerged in December when delegates discovered that swap-related 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 various Aave products. The ambition lies in the application layer, with Aave App targeting mainstream users with a 'fintech-like experience' and a card launch that will generate fees for the treasury.
The proposal addresses 'value leakage' by requiring service providers to build exclusively for Aave, with measurable goals and governance process improvements planned to reduce friction. Technically, Aave V4's reinvestment feature will turn idle capital into yield-generating positions, creating an additional revenue stream.
New 'Spokes' will expand collateral options, addressing the demand side of DeFi liquidity, and the team plans to invest in agentic AI infrastructure for developers building on Aave. With roughly $25 billion in total value locked, Aave is the largest lending protocol in DeFi, and the $140 million annual revenue figure positions it alongside Uniswap and Lido as one of the few protocols generating nine-figure income. The target is to scale from $40 billion to $1 trillion, positioning Aave as a financial network that any fintech, bank, or asset manager can plug into.