Stani Kulechov has taken action to reset the conversation within the Aave community after a controversial board vote rejected a proposal to transfer control of the protocol’s brand assets and intellectual property to the decentralized autonomous organization.
Key Takeaways:
- Aave’s founder says the protocol needs to expand beyond DeFi lending to continue growing.
- Aave Labs plans to share non-protocol revenue with AAVE holders and rethink IP control.
- Governance tensions remain over compensation and influence, despite the SEC concluding its investigation.
The failed vote reignited debate over the long-term direction of Aave and how value should be shared between token holders and core contributors.
Addressing these concerns in a message at Aave’s board forum on FridayKulechov said the protocol faces a strategic turning point as growth in decentralized financial lending alone may not be enough to support the next phase.
Aave founder says DeFi is at a crossroads
Kulechov argued that Aave should expand beyond its core DeFi lending business into areas such as real-world assets, institutional credit and consumer-oriented financial products.
Without that broader push, he warned, DeFi risks stalling as competition increases and market conditions change.
He described the ecosystem as “at a crossroads” and urged the community to think beyond short-term governance disputes.
A key element of the roadmap is a plan by Aave Labs to distribute non-protocol revenue to holders of the AAVE token.
This move would mark a shift in how the token captures value, expanding its role beyond voting on governance.
Kulechov also said that a revised proposal on intellectual property and trademark rights will be put forward, after strong resistance to the original plan.
The strategy pitch appears aimed at uniting a community that has become divided over issues of control and revenue ownership.
Kulechov cited real assets as a key growth avenue, citing estimates that put the value of global financial assets at roughly $500 trillion, a pool he believes on-chain finance can increasingly be tapped into.
Aave remains one of the largest DeFi protocols in terms of scale. Industry data showed the platform’s total value exceeded $45 billion in October, underscoring its influence even as the broader industry grapples with slower growth and regulatory uncertainty.
Aave Governance dispute centers on swap fees and revenue auditing
The governance dispute itself focused on fees generated by token swaps routed through services like CoW Swap, which allows users to trade directly from Aave.
Some community members argued that this revenue should go to the DAO, while others preferred to keep it under the control of Aave Labs to fund development.
Tensions were heightened by Kulechov’s recent purchase of approximately $15 million worth of AAVE tokens.
Critics suggested the measure was intended to influence the vote, a claim Kulechov rejected, saying the purchase reflected a personal belief rather than an attempt to influence the board.
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formally concluded its multi-year investigation into the Aave Protocol without recommending any enforcement action.
This action puts an end to almost four years of regulatory uncertainty surrounding one of the most widely used credit platforms in the decentralized finance sector.
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