Aave DAO approves $25 million Aave Labs funding grant in binding 'Aave Will Win' vote

The Aave DAO on Sunday approved the first binding piece of founder Stani Kulechov's "Aave Will Win" framework, ratifying a $25 million stablecoin grant and 75,000 AAVE token allocation to development firm Aave Labs.

The Aave Improvement Proposal, titled "Aave Will Win Framework: Primary Funding Request," closed with 522,780 votes in favor and 175,310 against, according to data from the Aave governance dashboard. The roughly 75% supporting share marks a substantial improvement from the contested temp check in early March, which cleared with 52.58% support in a vote critics alleged was tilted by Aave Labs-linked addresses.

The grant consists of an immediate 5 million aEthLidoGHO allowance (a yield-bearing stablecoin), a 5 million aEthLidoGHO stream over six months, and a 15 million aEthLidoGHO stream over 12 months from the DAO's Collector Contract. The 75,000 AAVE allocation will stream from the Ecosystem Reserve over 48 months, double the 24-month vesting schedule outlined in the original temp check.

The Aave Chan Initiative, the leading governance service provider founded Marc Zeller, cast 166,200 AAVE against the proposal, the largest single dissenting vote. The Block exclusively reported in March that ACI would not renew its DAO engagement and exit by July, citing concerns over Aave Labs' growing control of governance outcomes.

Top supporting votes came from an address reportedly belonging to ParaFi Capital holding 190,000 AAVE, delegate "luggis.eth" with 123,580 AAVE, governance firm Areta with 75,775 AAVE, and Token Logic with 73,386 AAVE. Token Logic, the DAO's treasury service provider, was consulted on the proposal's specification.

Sunday's vote covers only the funding component of the broader "Aave Will Win" framework. Growth and development grants, including the milestone-based payments tied to launches of the Aave App, Aave Pro, Aave Card, and Aave Kit outlined in the original framework, will be handled through separate governance proposals, according to the AIP text.

Kulechov declared victory in a Sunday X post, calling the outcome "the most important proposal in Aave's history" and laying out a multi-year strategy that includes consumer products, fintech integrations through Aave Kit, and pursuit of additional regulatory licenses globally to support fiat onboarding.

The thread also took aim at departed service providers, with Kulechov stating the DAO would "oppose any vendor lock-ins or service providers that build products for themselves at the expense of token holders" and declaring that "payments for posting governance proposals are over."

The "Aave Will Win" framework first emerged in January as Kulechov's response to a months-long dispute between Aave Labs and DAO contributors over revenue sharing, brand ownership, and governance authority. Under the broader framework, all revenue from Aave-branded products including aave.com swaps, Aave Pro, the Aave App, Horizon, and Aave Kit would flow to the DAO treasury, in exchange for the DAO funding Aave Labs' product development.

The vote follows a turbulent stretch for Aave's contributor base. BGD Labs, the protocol's longtime technical contributor, ended its engagement on April 1, citing centralization concerns. Risk service provider Chaos Labs announced its exit last week, with co-founder Omer Goldberg telling The Block its $3 million 2025 budget fell short of the estimated $8 million needed to oversee both V3 and V4.

Aave V4 went live on Ethereum mainnet in late March following a separate AIP that passed with roughly 60% support. Aave is the largest decentralized lending protocol by deposits, according to The Block's data. The price of AAVE has fallen nearly 5% over the past 24 hours, though it rebounded slightly following the vote's passage.