Catenaa, Friday, December 19, 2025- An AAVE token holder has proposed that Aave DAO assume control over Aave Labs’ intellectual property and equity through a “poison pill” strategy, escalating debate over protocol revenue allocation and governance.
The proposal, posted by user tulipking on the Orbit forum, seeks to transfer ownership of Aave Labs’ code, trademarks, and corporate equity to the DAO, arguing that previous front-end integrations, including a CoW Swap rollout, diverted revenue away from the community-owned protocol.
Tulipking said the measure would prevent centralization and ensure all value flows back to AAVE holders.
The initiative follows questions raised by other token holders over revenue streams and token rights, highlighting tensions between decentralized governance and for-profit operations.
Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov defended the CoW Swap integration, describing it as a voluntary revenue diversion that enhanced user experience and MEV protection, though he acknowledged the process lacked transparency.
Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave Chan Initiative, emphasized the proposal’s potential impact on DAO governance, calling it “the most important in Aave’s history,” and questioned who holds the rights to the Aave brand and IP.
The debate touches on broader governance challenges in DeFi, including conflicts between token holders and corporate equity, reminiscent of discussions around Uniswap and Circle’s Axelar acquisition.
Previous Aave proposals included a $50 million annual token buyback and tokenomics adjustments, as well as plans to remove unprofitable deployments.
Forum moderators noted that tulipking’s submission must undergo a temporary check before formal voting.
The discussion highlights ongoing complexities in aligning decentralized ownership, corporate operations, and protocol revenue distribution in high-value DeFi ecosystems.
