Aave proposal clears first hurdle with 52.6% approval…DAO funding plan moves to next stage

The “Aave Will Win” framework from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave (AAVE) has passed a Temp Check vote. However, the narrow margin also underscored divisions within governance.

According to crypto media outlet Cointelegraph on the 2nd, the off-chain Snapshot vote closed with 52.58% in favor, 42% against and 5.42% abstaining. The proposal will now move to Aave’s ARFC (Aave Request for Comment) stage for further fine-tuning.

The framework allocates up to $42.5 million worth of stablecoins and 75,000 AAVE tokens to Aave Labs. In return, it introduces a “DAO treasury-funded operating model” that directs 100% of revenue from Aave-branded products to the Aave DAO treasury.

The close result points to internal disagreement over changes to the protocol’s funding structure and revenue distribution. In particular, concerns were raised about the size of the funding package and the expansion of governance influence, given that the 75,000 AAVE tokens come with voting rights.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov said on X (formerly Twitter) that the vote marked “a step closer to a token-centric model,” adding that structural improvements would be prepared at the ARFC stage by incorporating community feedback.

Ahead of the vote, Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) founder Marc Zeller and Aave Labs also sparred after releasing conflicting reports on past funding and value creation.

Under Aave’s governance process, the proposal will proceed through subsequent steps before being put to an on-chain Aave Improvement Proposal (AIP) vote. Only proposals that pass on-chain carry legal and technical effect.

If ultimately approved, the proposal would formalize Aave V4 as the long-term technical foundation. It could also affect the protocol’s development structure, revenue-sharing framework and overall approach to brand management.