Stani Kulechov's comments followed an uproar in the Aave community about the relationship between the Aave decentralized autonomous organization and Aave Labs. Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of Aave Labs, the main development company behind the Aave decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, denied claims that he recently purchased $15 million of Aave (AAVE) tokens to influence a controversial community vote that failed to pass. “These tokens were not used to vote on the recent proposal, and that was never my intention. This is my life's work, and I am putting my own capital behind my conviction,” Kulechov said. He also said that Aave Labs has not clearly communicated the economic alignment between it and Aave token holders. “In the future, we'll be more explicit about how products built by Aave Labs create value for the DAO and AAVE token holders,” he added. Read more
The failed vote highlights deeper tensions over token value capture, governance power and whether DAO structures can effectively manage protocol identity. Aave token holders voted against a controversial governance proposal seeking to place control of the protocol's brand assets under DAO ownership. On Friday, the snapshot poll closed with 55.29% voting “NAY” and 41.21% abstaining. Only 3.5% of voters supported the proposal. The proposal asked whether Aave (AAVE) token holders should regain control over Aave’s domains, social handles, naming rights and other intellectual property through an entity under a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Supporters framed the move as a step toward decentralization and clarifying questions about brand stewardship. Read more
Aave founder Stani Kulechov is facing criticism after a $10 million AAVE purchase ahead of a key DAO vote, as critics raise concerns over voting power concentration. Aave founder Stani Kulechov is facing scrutiny over his recent $10 million purchase of AAVE tokens, with some in the crypto community claiming it was used to boost his voting power in a key governance proposal. In a Wednesday post on X, Robert Mullins, a decentralized finance (DeFi) strategist and liquidity specialist, argued that the purchase was meant to increase Kulechov’s “voting power in anticipation to vote for a proposal directly against the token holders best interests.” He added: “This is a clear example of tokens not being equipped to adequately disincentivize governance attacks.” Read more
Critics say the decision to fast-track a brand ownership vote exposed weaknesses in how one of DeFi’s largest DAOs handles governance process. A governance vote at decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Aave sparked a backlash from key stakeholders after a proposal on ownership of Aave's brand assets was escalated to a Snapshot vote amid unresolved discussion. The proposal asks the community whether Aave (AAVE) token holders should regain control over the protocol’s brand assets, including domains, social handles, naming rights and other intellectual property through a DAO-controlled legal vehicle. Aave founder Stani Kulechov said the community was interested in a decision, announcing that the proposal had been moved to a vote. Read more
According to a letter posted by the protocol’s founder and CEO, the US agency does “not intend to recommend an enforcement action” against Aave. Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, said the US Securities and Exchange Commission ended a four-year investigation into the decentralized finance platform. In a Tuesday X post, Kulechov provided an Aug. 12 letter from the SEC saying that the agency did “not intend to recommend an enforcement action” against Aave. The text of the letter suggested that the protocol had faced a potential enforcement action by the SEC in a probe initiated about four years ago. “We’re glad to put this behind us as we enter a new era where developers can truly build the future of finance,” said Kulechov. Read more
Members of the Aave DAO clashed with Aave Labs, with some arguing that the company was not acting in the best interests of token holders. A dispute between the Aave decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which governs the Aave decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, and Aave Labs, the main development company for Aave products, over fees from the recently announced integration with decentralized exchange aggregator CoW Swap, continues to flare up. The issue was raised by pseudonymous Aave DAO member EzR3aL, who said that the fees generated by crypto asset swaps using CoW Swap were going to a different onchain address, not the treasury of the Aave decentralized autonomous organization. Instead, the fees are going to a private address controlled by Aave Labs. EzR3aL raised several questions, including why the DAO was not consulted before the fees were routed, and argued that the fees belong to the DAO. Read more
21Shares, one of the largest crypto ETF issuers with $8 billion in assets, continues to introduce more investment products in Europe as an influx of new crypto ETFs hits the US. 21Shares, a major crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) provider, is expanding its offerings in Europe with the launch of six more funds on Sweden’s stock exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm. 21Shares on Thursday announced the cross-listing of six additional products on Nasdaq Stockholm, including ETPs for Aave (AAVE), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), Polkadot (DOT) and two crypto basket products. With the expansion, 21shares now offers a total of 16 ETPs on Nasdaq Stockholm, which is just a fraction of multiple offerings available on other European exchanges like SIX Swiss Exchange, Deutsche Börse Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam and more. Read more
With higher yields and flexible deposits, Aave’s new app marks a deeper move into the consumer banking terrain as inflation drives demand for better savings tools. Aave, a popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, has unveiled a new savings app that offers higher-yield deposit options and real-time interest tracking for retail users. According to a Monday blog post, the Aave App will offer 5% to 9% APY and show interest accrual in real time. The app includes up to $1 million in balance protection, lets users model potential earnings and supports recurring deposits. The app accepts deposits from thousands of banks, debit cards and supported stablecoins, and offers instant withdrawals with no waiting period. A waitlist is currently open for early access. Read more
Aave said compliant, audited payment pathways are crucial for onboarding new users to decentralized finance. Aave Labs became one of the first major decentralized finance (DeFi) projects to secure authorization under Europe’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, allowing the company to offer regulated stablecoin ramps across the European Economic Area (EEA). The approval enables “Push,” Aave Labs’ fiat-to-crypto service, to let users convert between euros and crypto assets, including the Aave protocol’s native stablecoin, GHO. The Central Bank of Ireland granted the authorization to Push Virtual Assets Ireland Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aave Labs. The company selected Ireland for its European operations, signaling that the country is becoming a preferred hub for compliant onchain finance under MiCA. On June 25, the crypto exchange Kraken secured its MiCA authorization in Ireland, allowing it to expand its offerings across Europe. Read more
Aave Labs’ latest deal follows a string of institutional initiatives, including its Maple Finance integration and Horizon RWA marketplace. San Francisco–based Stable Finance has been acquired by Aave Labs, the developer behind the Aave lending ecosystem, as the firm expands into consumer-facing onchain services. Founded in 2023, Stable Finance’s mobile app allows users to deposit funds from bank accounts, cards, or crypto wallets to earn yield on stablecoins through overcollateralized decentralized markets. The deal, announced Thursday, also brings Stable Finance’s founder Mario Baxter Cabrera and his engineering team into Aave Labs. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Read more
The proposal would make Aave’s $50 million annual buyback a permanent feature, expanding on the success of previous buyback initiatives. Aave’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) introduced a proposal to create a long-term, protocol-funded buyback program that would use up to $50 million in annual revenue to repurchase Aave tokens. The proposal, submitted on Wednesday by the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), seeks to make buybacks a permanent component of Aave’s tokenomics. Under the plan, the Aave Finance Committee (AFC) and TokenLogic would lead the execution, repurchasing $250,000 to $1.75 million in Aave (AAVE) tokens weekly, depending on market conditions, liquidity and volatility. If approved, the proposal will proceed through the Aave Request for Comment (ARFC) stage for community feedback, followed by a Snapshot vote and final onchain governance confirmation. Unlike short-term market interventions, the proposal aims to institutionalize buybacks as a recurring mechanism, essentially making the DAO ...
The partnership links Aave’s liquidity with Maple Finance’s institutional credit pools, introducing yield-bearing stablecoins to Aave's lending markets. Lending protocol Aave has partnered with onchain credit platform Maple Finance to connect institutional capital with decentralized liquidity. Announced on Tuesday, the integration will introduce Maple’s yield-bearing stablecoins — syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT — to Aave. SyrupUSDC will be listed in Aave’s core market, while syrupUSDT will be available in its Plasma instance. The tokens are backed by assets from Maple’s onchain credit pools, which manage billions of dollars in institutional capital from allocators and borrowers. According to Maple, the move is intended to “stabilize borrow demand and improve capital efficiency” across Aave’s markets. Read more
The update promises major changes to improve user experience and introduces a modular design, replacing Aave's monolithic architecture. Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Aave is releasing its V4 update, a major protocol upgrade, sometime in the fourth quarter of 2025, introducing modular lending markets and new risk controls among new features. The update introduces a “hub and spoke” modular design to Aave to allow for crypto borrowing and lending markets with more custom parameters, without trapping liquidity in different siloes, according to an update from Aave. Liquidity hubs act as central pools for modular spokes; each of the spokes represents a different market with one of three risk profiles and features different borrowing and lending rates, replacing Aave’s current uniform rates. The team wrote: Read more