A recent governance vote within the Aave decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has sparked heated debate and accusations, with Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov denying allegations that he purchased $15 million worth of AAVE tokens to influence the vote's outcome. The proposal in question concerned transferring control of Aave's brand assets to the DAO, a move that ultimately failed with over 55% of voters rejecting it and 41% abstaining. Only a small fraction, 3.5%, voted in favor.
The failed proposal has exposed underlying tensions between Aave Labs, the company founded by Kulechov, and the AAVE token holders who participate in the DAO. Critics within the Aave community have suggested that Kulechov's substantial token purchase just before the vote was a deliberate attempt to sway the results in favor of Aave Labs. Robert Mullins, a DeFi strategist, argued the purchase was intended to increase Kulechov's voting power against the best interests of token holders.
Kulechov has strongly refuted these claims, stating that the purchased tokens were not used in the voting process and that he never intended to influence the outcome. In a statement addressing the controversy, Kulechov affirmed his commitment to the Aave ecosystem, emphasizing that Aave is his "life's work" and that his investment reflects his conviction in the project's future. "These tokens were not used to vote on the recent proposal, and that was never my intention," Kulechov stated.
The proposal to transfer brand assets to the DAO was brought forward following concerns raised by a pseudonymous Aave DAO member, EzR3aL, regarding the routing of fees from a recent integration with the CoW Swap decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator. EzR3aL argued that these fees, generated from swaps using CoW Swap, should belong to the DAO and that the DAO should have been consulted before any redirection to a wallet controlled by Aave Labs. This sparked broader concerns about the relationship between Aave Labs and the DAO.
The outcome of the vote means that Aave Labs retains control over the organization's intellectual property rights, online accounts, and social media presence. Data from Aave DAO indicates that a small number of AAVE token holders wield significant voting power, with the three largest holders controlling over half of the total voting power. The leading wallet controls 27.06% of votes, while the second-largest holder, aci.eth, controls 18.53%.
Kulechov has acknowledged the need for clearer communication and alignment between Aave Labs and AAVE token holders. He has pledged to be more explicit about how products built by Aave Labs create value for the DAO and AAVE token holders. Kulechov also highlighted the DAO's financial performance, noting that it earned $140 million in 2025, exceeding the revenue of the previous three years combined.
Despite the controversy, Kulechov views the debate surrounding the vote as a positive development for Aave's long-term health. He stated that "debate and disagreement are features of decentralized governance". As the Aave ecosystem moves forward, the focus will likely be on fostering greater transparency and collaboration between Aave Labs and the AAVE token holders who govern the DAO.
