Key notes
- Stani Kulechov purchased 32,660 AAVE at $158 on December 23.
- His AAVE position is currently down about $2.2 million, with AAVE at $153.75.
- The purchases come amid a governance dispute between Aave Labs and the DAO.
Aave Founder Stani Kulechov Created Another Heavyweight AAVE
AAVE
$148.8
24h volatility:
1.8%
Market capitalization:
$2.26 billion
Flight. 24h:
$311.52 million
symbolic purchase while the project is facing a major internal crisis. Data shared by Lookonchain shows that Kulechov purchased 32,660 AAVE worth approximately $5.15 million at an average price of $158 in the early hours of December 23.
Stani Kuleshov(@StaniKulechov), the founder of @Aavebought 32,660 $AAVE($5.15M) at $158 again 7 hours ago.
He purchased a total of 84,033 $AAVE($12.6 million) at an average cost of $176 over the past week, currently with an unrealized loss of $2.2 million. pic.twitter.com/k0pWQCmwGr
– Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 23, 2025
This latest purchase follows several purchases earlier in the week. Kulechov has accumulated a total of 84,033 AAVE over the last seven days at an average cost of $176, spending approximately $12.6 million. The position represents an unrealized loss of approximately $2.2 million at the current price of $153.75.
The purchases come as Aave grapples with a so-called governance “civil war” between Aave Labs, the development company founded by Kulechov, and parts of Aave DAO. The dispute led to heavy sales, whale releases and a collapse in business.
Stani, please come to your senses
it’s clear what $AAVE the holders want
the only people who defend Aave Labs are… Aave Labs employees
if you want to develop your own fintech products, that’s great
but an Aave savings app called “Aave” should be owned by the DAO and exclusively… pic.twitter.com/i82tsWGxTN
-Lito (@litocoen) December 22, 2025
AAVE fell 18% over the past week and lost over $500 million in market value. DexCheckAI reported that AAVE lost over 980 on-chain holders over the past day, while trading activity fell by over 85%.
Social sentiment around Aave has also plummeted. According to DexCheckAI data, approximately 59% of posts on AAVE are currently negative.
$AAVE loses over 980 onchain holders, trading activity drops over 85%
At least 2 out of 100 messages on CT discuss @aaveunfortunately, not for the best reasons.
The DeFi project is currently the most trending across all chains, controlling 2.17% of mindshare on… pic.twitter.com/p8aMX5Jc9G
– DexCheck AI (@DexCheck_io) December 23, 2025
What is the “civil war” of Aave governance?
Notably, around December 4, Aave Labs announced an integration with CoW Swap to replace VeloraDEX on the official Aave interface. The change improved pricing and MEV protection for users, but it quietly changed where swap fees were sent.
In mid-December, DAO delegates discovered that the new setup’s swap fees were being paid to Aave Labs wallets instead of the DAO’s treasury. Previously, similar fees generated about $200,000 per week, or more than $10 million per year, for the DAO.
Prominent delegate Marc Zeller publicly criticized the decision, calling it a serious governance problem. Some community members have suggested plans to seize Aave Labs’ intellectual property, code, and brand assets, effectively turning Labs into a DAO-controlled unit.
Ernesto, former CTO of Aave Labs, argued that the brand’s key assets should be owned by the DAO since it funded much of the growth.
Instant voting
On December 22, Kulechov submitted a trademark ownership proposal to Snapshot for a vote, based on Ernesto’s previous version. Ernesto rejected the move, saying his name was used without approval and criticizing the holiday schedule. The vote is scheduled for December 23-26.
To be very clear:
– This is not, in terms of ethics, my proposal. Aave Labs (for whatever reason) unilaterally submitted my ballot proposal in a hurry, with my name on it, and without informing me at all. If I had been asked, I would not have approved it.
– I did not intend to submit the…-Ernesto (@eboadom) December 22, 2025
Zeller also raised concerns about the process and fairness.
At the same time, a whale sold 230,350 AAVE worth around $37-38 million and caused the price of the altcoin to fall by 4.8% over the past day. Snapshot voting is now live, with the community divided. Polymarket’s odds currently put the proposal at about a 5% chance of success.
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A crypto journalist with over 5 years of industry experience, Parth has worked with leading media outlets in the crypto and finance world, gaining experience and expertise in the field after surviving both bear and bull markets over the years. Parth is also the author of 4 self-published books.
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