Aave CEO’s ‘no vote’ on token alignment proposal sparks more backlash

Aave’s internal struggle appears far from over. 

The recent token alignment proposal, which aims to have the DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) control Aave’s brand assets (domain, naming rights, social handles, etc.) from Aave Labs, has taken another twist. 

Aave CEO opposes the proposal

Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov, who also leads Aave Labs, one of the service providers tasked with developing the DeFi platform, strongly opposed the proposal.

He openly stated that he would be “voting no”, adding that there needs to be a “structured process” to achieve a resolution, rather than a ‘yes/no’ vote. 

Now, the CEO has escalated the issue from the Aave governance forum to Snapshot, allowing individual token holders to also vote on the issue. But the move also sparked more backlash from critics. 

Macr Zeller slams the CEO

Marc Zeller, Aave Chan Initiative founder and one of the vocal members calling out Aave Labs for overreach into DAO assets, slammed the CEO’s latest move as “interference in the DAO governance process.” 

“We’ve posted our position in response to this unprecedented interference in the DAO governance process. Worst outcome that was entirely preventable.”

The voting on the proposal is expected to end by the 26th of December, a schedule Zeller said was chosen to coincide with a holiday period and intended to sabotage the process. 

The proposal was first floated a week ago, following allegations that Kulechov directed some of the DAO’s revenue (estimated at $10M annually) to Aave Labs.

For critics, this directly undermined AAVE tokenholders, as the DAO drives token buybacks and value accrual programs. 

In contrast, Kulechov supporters are okay with Aave Labs monetizing some Aave brand as a necessary incentive to continue building the DeFi platform’s long-term goals. 

AAVE price dumps 10%

Amid internal escalation, AAVE dumped by 10% in the past 24 hours to $159. In fact, since the proposal was floated on the 16th of December, AAVE has dumped by 17%, led by whale sell-offs. 

On-chain data showed that a whale offloaded $37.8 million in AAVE at a loss, underscoring the risk-off mode if the escalation got out of control. 

Final Thoughts 

• Aave’s internal struggle has escalated as stakeholders seek a resolution by the 26th of December.
• However, the crisis weighed on the AAVE price, prompting whales to exit positions to cut losses.