Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of Aave, has articulated an expanded strategic vision for the protocol in light of a recent governance vote that turned down a proposal aimed at transferring Aave’s brand assets and intellectual property to its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
The rejected vote has reignited discussions within the Aave community regarding the protocol’s future direction and governance, a topic Kulechov has addressed head-on.
In a post on the Aave governance forum released on Friday, Kulechov contended that the protocol should evolve beyond its foundational decentralized finance (DeFi) lending operations to explore opportunities in real-world assets (RWAs), institutional lending, and consumer-oriented financial products.
He noted that the community finds itself “at a crossroads,” emphasizing that the growth trajectory of DeFi remains unclear without a broader market expansion.
Notably, Kulechov mentioned that Aave Labs intends to allocate non-protocol revenue to Aave (AAVE) tokenholders, a step that might broaden how the token captures value beyond mere governance participation. He also indicated plans to present a new governance proposal addressing intellectual property ownership and brand rights, in light of previous community objections to the prior initiative.
Kulechov’s message seems geared toward steering the community away from immediate governance conflicts and towards a unified long-term vision. He placed a particular emphasis on RWAs, characterizing the sector as a potential $500 trillion opportunity based on the estimated value of global financial assets.
Aave ranks among the largest DeFi protocols, with its total value locked surpassing $45 billion in October, as reported by industry data.
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The controversy at the heart of Aave governance
According to Cointelegraph, the recent governance dispute at Aave revolves around the control and allocation of fees generated from cryptocurrency swaps within the ecosystem.
Some of these swaps are facilitated through CoW Swap, a decentralized trading service enabling users to exchange tokens directly from Aave. The contention arose regarding whether revenues linked to these swaps should be allocated to the Aave DAO, representing tokenholders, or remain under the authority of developers at Aave Labs.
Some Aave community members also pointed to Kulechov’s recent acquisition of approximately $15 million worth of AAVE tokens as an effort to influence the governance vote, a claim he categorically denied, asserting that the purchase reflected his personal “conviction” in the protocol rather than a strategy to sway the outcome.
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