On 12 February 2026, Aave Labs requested the neighborhood whether or not it will help redirecting all product-related income on to the Aave DAO. The proposal principally directs 100% of income from its branded merchandise on to the Aave DAO treasury, doubtlessly ending a long-standing battle over who truly owns the income of DeFi’s largest lending protocol. Might this transfer reshape the economics of the world’s largest DeFi lending protocol?
Referred to as the financial institution with out bankers, Aave permits customers to lend and borrow cryptocurrency and not using a intermediary. It runs on code, however it’s managed by a Decentralized Autonomous Group (DAO), which is only a fancy time period for a bunch of people that maintain AAVE tokens and vote on selections.
Commenting on the proposal, founder and CEO of Aave Labs, Stani Kulechov, stated, “The Aave Will Win Framework expands Aave DAO’s income base past protocol income established by AIP-1 to incorporate non-protocol and off-chain income, materially growing the DAO’s capability to develop its treasury. This could place the DAO to fund progress, enhance buybacks, and pursue different alternatives because it sees match.”
He took to X to say that the corporate “will function the spine of worldwide finance, a market measured within the lots of of trillions. Constructing on the product layer creates new income for the DAO and helps scale Aave to mainstream adoption and convey DeFi to everybody.”
At present we’re proposing the Aave Will Win Framework, a brand new alignment framework that directs 100% of product income to the Aave DAO treasury underneath a token-centric mannequin. pic.twitter.com/8PyBY1kxSi
— Aave (@aave) February 12, 2026
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Stress Brewing Between DAO And Aave Labs?
Nevertheless, stress has been brewing between the DAO (the neighborhood) and Aave Labs (the non-public firm that builds the software program). Final December, Aave Labs determined to maintain the transaction charges generated by the aave.com web site for themselves relatively than sharing them with the neighborhood. This sparked accusations of a “slow-motion coup.”
This battle highlights the governance struggles repeatedly dealing with the Ethereum ecosystem, a subject we contact on when asking if Ethereum is dying or flashing a purchase sign. Can a decentralized protocol actually be decentralized if one firm holds the purse strings?
To squash the meat, Aave Labs launched a proposal dubbed the “Aave Will Win Framework.” Ideally, this plan would ship all income from the Aave frontend, the upcoming Aave Card, and even future ETFs on to the DAO treasury.
In change, Aave Labs is asking for $25 million in stablecoins, 75,000 AAVE tokens (price roughly $8.3 million), and a mandate to construct Aave V4, the following model of the protocol.
Whereas some see this as unifying the neighborhood, others are skeptical. Outstanding DAO member Marc Zeller known as out the transfer, suggesting it is perhaps an try and safe an enormous payout underneath the guise of generosity, stated The Block.
The sort of treasury negotiation is turning into frequent as protocols mature. We’re seeing comparable complicated monetary constructions emerge elsewhere, such because the treasury and collateral selections driving Hyperliquid hype.
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Potential shift towards conventional shareholder-like mannequin the place protocol success straight interprets to DAO treasury progress?
For AAVE token holders, the proposal represents a possible shift towards a extra conventional shareholder-like mannequin the place protocol success straight interprets to DAO treasury progress.
Should you maintain AAVE or use DeFi, this can be a pivotal second. If the proposal passes, the Aave DAO would management an enormous income stream, doubtlessly making the AAVE token far more helpful basically. It alerts that customers, not simply corporations, can personal the monetary infrastructure they use.
Nevertheless, handing over $33 million is a threat. Successfully, the neighborhood is hiring Aave Labs as a contractor.
Moreover, the push for Aave V4 entails critical technical upgrades. As we’ve seen with the debates surrounding MegaETH and Layer 2s, updating blockchain infrastructure is high-risk, high-reward. If Aave V4 succeeds, it secures the protocol’s future; if the funding is squandered, the DAO is left holding the bag.
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Key Takeaways
The proposal, titled “Aave Will Win,” outlines a complete framework designed to manipulate Aave’s operations for the following decade.
An important factor of the proposal entails the creation of a brand new basis that may maintain Aave’s emblems and mental property on behalf of the neighborhood.
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