• Aave DAO will document $140 million in income in 2025, greater than the earlier three years mixed.
• Kulechov addressed the controversy over his private buy of AAVE tokens for $15 million and clarified that they weren’t used to vote on latest governance proposals.
• In keeping with studies, the founders purchased round $10 million of AAVE simply earlier than the important thing vote, elevating issues that one individual has an excessive amount of management.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov introduced on X that his firm’s Decentralized Autonomous Group (DAO) has generated $140 million in income this 12 months, exceeding the mixed DAO income of the earlier three years. This can be a enormous step ahead for one of many largest DeFi lending protocols.

Kulechov emphasised that AAVE token holders management the DAO’s funds and acknowledged that the corporate didn’t adequately clarify how its product would generate income. He promised additional clarification on this level sooner or later.

The founder additionally addressed the controversy surrounding his private buy of AAVE tokens for $15 million, revealing that they weren’t used to vote on latest governance proposals. He described this as an expression of his private perception and long-term assist for the Aave mission.

Lastly, Kulechov mentioned the Aave community is massive sufficient for a lot of completely different service firms to develop, and his group will proceed to assist and accomplice with firms that construct on the platform.

Nevertheless, some group members and analysts questioned the timing of the acquisition, arguing that it may sway the DAO’s heated vote on who owns the Aave model and the way the income can be distributed. In keeping with studies, Mr. Kulechov purchased about $10 million in AAVE simply earlier than the important thing vote, elevating issues that one individual may achieve an excessive amount of management.

Roots of DAO battle

The controversy facilities round how Aave’s income is allotted and who really owns completely different components of the protocol.

In early December, members sounded the alarm after discovering that swap charges generated by the brand new CoW Swap integration on Aave’s web site have been being despatched to addresses managed by Aave Labs slightly than the DAO Treasury. Critics claimed the transfer diverted greater than $10 million a 12 months from the group and was carried out with out a correct vote.

The battle led to a proper vote to switch management of key model property akin to domains and social media to the DAO. Though the proposal didn’t cross, the controversy highlighted ongoing tensions between the unique developer, Aave Labs, and the group of token holders who vote on the protocol’s guidelines.

Associated: Wintermute founder opposes Aave proposal as a result of issues about token worth