Aave’s Rushed Governance Vote Draws Backlash - Unchained

Decentralized lending protocol Aave’s recent governance vote on transferring control of brand assets like domains and social media to the DAO has drawn sharp criticism for being rushed.

Key community figures argue the process bypassed norms and ignored ongoing discussions, while Aave founder Stani Kulechov has defended it publicly as meeting requirements amid community eagerness.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

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The proposal, authored under the name of Aave Labs CTO Ernesto Boado, advanced to Snapshot voting after just five days of forum debate, despite over 200 comments and unresolved questions.

“This is not, in ethos, my proposal. Aave Labs has (for whatever reason) unilaterally submitted my proposal to vote in a rush, with my name on it, and without notifying me at all. If asked, I would not have approved it,” said Boado on X.

Marc Zeller, who leads the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), said the situation was turning into a “hostile takeover attempt” by Aave Labs.