Aave Labs seeks $50M grant to redirect product revenue to DAO

Aave Labs has asked tokenholders to approve a funding package worth about $50 million in exchange for redirecting all revenue from Aave-branded products to the Aave DAO treasury.

The proposal includes up to $42.5 million in stablecoins — $25 million as a primary grant and $17.5 million tied to product milestones. It also includes 75,000 Aave (AAVE) tokens, worth about $8 million at the time of writing. The stablecoin grants, if approved, will be streamed over time, and milestone payments will be released upon product launches. 

In return, Aave Labs would route 100% of product-level revenue to the DAO. That includes fees generated by aave.com, the planned Aave App and Aave Card, Aave Pro, Aave Kit and Aave Horizon. The framework also asks tokenholders to ratify Aave V4 as the protocol’s long-term technical foundation and outlines plans to create a foundation to hold and steward the Aave brand. 

The proposal marks a shift in how Aave captures and distributes value. It would consolidate protocol and product revenue at the DAO level while shifting Aave Labs to a DAO-funded operating model after months of governance tension. 

Source: Aave

Governance concerns over voting power

The funding request drew scrutiny from some community members. Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave Chan Initiative, wrote that the $50 million package represents a significant portion of the DAO treasury. 

He called for unbundling the vote into separate proposals covering revenue alignment, V4 ratification, foundation creation and funding. 

Zeller also called for clearer definitions of “revenue” and independent verification of product income flowing to the DAO. He raised concerns over the 75,000 Aave token grant, noting that governance tokens carry voting power. He said entities receiving DAO tokens should disclose their wallet holdings. 

Crypto commentator DefiIgnas described the proposal as a “big compromise” that AAVE holders “should like,” though he also said clearer disclosures around governance voting power tied to the 75,000 AAVE grant would be appropriate.

Aave Labs framed the proposal as a move toward a “token-centric” model that aligns value accrual with the DAO. Aave founder Stani Kulechov said on X that directing product revenue to the DAO would expand its capacity to fund growth and other initiatives. 

“This would position the DAO to fund growth, increase buybacks, and pursue other opportunities as it sees fit,” Kulechov wrote. 

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Proposal follows rejected IP vote

The proposal follows another contentious governance episode recently. On Dec. 26, Aave tokenholders rejected a proposal to transfer control of the protocol’s brand assets to an entity under the DAO, with a majority voting against the measure. 

On Jan. 3, Kulechov outlined a broader strategy to expand beyond decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and revisit how non-protocol revenue flows to token holders.

The current proposal formalizes elements of that vision, combining revenue consolidation, V4 ratification and a new foundation structure in a single strategic pitch. 

The Temp Check, an initial signal vote to measure community support, was launched ahead of any binding onchain vote. If it advances, the proposal would move through additional governance stages before any funds are distributed.

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