Aave Governance Vote Sparks Backlash Over Rushed Escalation 2025

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.

“We realize the community is very interested in a path forward and is ready to make a decision,” Kulechov wrote.

While Kulechov said it was time for tokenholders to vote, other community members argued that the proposal was pushed to a vote prematurely, bypassing governance norms.

Related: SEC ends probe into Aave after four years, CEO Kulechov says

Former Aave Labs chief technology officer Ernesto Boado, whose name appears as the proposal’s author, said the vote was escalated without his consent or knowledge.

“This is not, in ethos, my proposal,” Boado wrote on X, saying that he would not have approved the submission for a vote while community discussion was still ongoing. He said the escalation breaks the code of trust in the community.

Marc Zeller, who leads the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), said the proposal was “unilaterally escalated” despite unresolved questions from delegates and token holders.

Source: CoinTelegraph