Key notes
- The recent proposal failed with 55% “NO” and 41.21% “ABSTAIN” for AAVE’s record 1.8 million participations.
- The expected turnout was low given “conditions that objectively reduce participation.” Zeller, Stani, CEO of Aave Labs, and Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, also participated in the discussion.
The Aave DAO and community recently voted against a proposal to transfer ownership of the Aave Labs brand to the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) governing the leading DeFi protocol. Prominent executives such as Aave Labs founder and CEO Stani and Marc Zeller, founder of the Aavechan Initiative, commented on the result, noting that the vote reached record turnout.
What did Aave users vote against?
According to on-chain data, Coinspeaker retrieved from Snapshot, the “(ARFC) $AAVE token align. Phase 1 – Ownership” proposal closed on December 25. The Christmas vote saw a record 1.8 million AAVE users take part. 994,800 AAVE (55.29%) voted “NO”, 741,600 AAVE (41.21%) chose to abstain and only 63,000 (3.5%) voted in favor of the proposal.
“(ARFC) $AAVE Token Alignment. Phase 1 Proposal – Ownership” | Source: snapshot
Essentially, the proposal suggested that AAVE token holders seek to gain control of Aave brand assets. In this case, domains, social media accounts and naming rights would be placed under a DAO-controlled structure to be defined later, with safeguards to prevent misuse or takeover. He called on those who currently control these assets to transfer them, in principle and in practice, regardless of their identity.
Many investors criticized the proposal, calling it “rushed” amid ongoing discussions about Aave Labs’ stock and communications strategy ahead of popular international holidays. This governance conflict has now become one of the most significant for a DeFi protocol, offering long-term lessons and setting relevant precedents for DAO voting in the future.
Notably, the proposal stemmed from escalating tensions over income distribution and control of
AAVE
$156.5
24h volatility:
1.9%
Market capitalization:
$2.38 billion
Flight. 24h:
$323.24 million
off-chain assets. The controversy erupted earlier in December when governance delegates discovered that Aave Labs’ integration of CoW Swap into the official app.aave.com interface had redirected swap fees (estimated up to $10 million per year) from the DAO treasury to a wallet controlled by Aave Labs.
Previously, the ParaSwap integration shared this revenue with the DAO, fueling accusations of “stealth privatization” and misalignment between the private development entity and token holders.
Aave-Linked Executives Comment on Recent Record-Breaking DAO Voting
As voting concluded, Aave Labs founder and CEO Stani Kulechov commented on it on In his post, Stani committed to making the economic alignment between Aave Labs and $AAVE token holders clearer.
Additionally, he expanded on his recently disclosed $15 million AAVE purchase, as Coinspeaker reported before the holidays. He explained that the amount was not used for this recent vote. “This is my life’s work,” Stani said, “I put my own capital behind my belief.”
Stani was the leader behind this proposal and a “YES” supporter.
The recent DAO vote has concluded and raised important questions about the relationship between Aave Labs and $AAVE token holders. This is a productive discussion critical to the long-term health of Aave.
Even if it was a little eventful, debates and disagreements…
– Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) December 26, 2025
The founder of the Aavechan Initiative, Marc “Billy” Zeller, was a leading advocate of “ABTENTION” votes in public debates. He suggested token holders to abstain as conditions were not ideal to make such a critical decision while discussions were still ongoing. He highlighted “a compressed timetable, a vacation period and a debate that was still actively evolving.”
Yet, in an article
“Despite an unfair schedule and all the practical disadvantages weighing on the DAO, turnout broke records, with 1.8 million total votes cast. This is not a defeat for decentralization. It is the opposite of apathy, and that is exactly what a healthy DAO should look like,” he said.
– Marc “七十 Billy” Zeller (@Marczeller) December 26, 2025
Another prominent figure who commented on this governance proposal was Wintermute co-founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, a reported AAVE investor. Gaevoy highlighted “a clear mismatch of expectations between AAVE Labs and a significant number of AAVE token holders” in many areas.
Furthermore, he disagreed with the forum’s proposal “as it currently stands”, explaining that it requires further elaboration to become feasible. Therefore, Wintermute and Evgeny Gaevoy voted and argued for “NO”, the winning result.
“It makes no sense to commit to a course of action without knowing the details. It is far from clear how the entity owning the front end and brand would be governed, whether it would be for-profit or not, and whether it would actually guarantee accumulation of value for token holders.”
Disclosures first (as should be the custom). Wintermute (ventures) has been an investor in AAVE since 2022. We have also participated in governance and this is a decent part of our venture capital portfolio. Personally, I also hold an AAVE. Neither I personally nor Wintermute are exposed…
– wishful_cynic (@EvgenyGaevoy) December 25, 2025
Interestingly, on the same day that this reported proposal was rejected, another relevant Ethereum DeFi protocol, Uniswap, approved a long-awaited governance proposal. On December 25, the DAO voted in favor of the UNification overhaul, approving 100 million UNI Burn and activating the fee change.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article is intended to provide accurate and current information, but should not be considered financial or investment advice. Because market conditions can change quickly, we encourage you to verify the information for yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Vini Barbosa has been covering the crypto industry professionally since 2020, summarizing over 10,000 hours of researching, writing and editing related content for media outlets and major industry players. Vini is an active commentator and avid user of technology, sincerely believing in its revolutionary potential. Topics of interest include blockchain, open source software, decentralized finance, and real-world utilities.
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