- Stani Kulechov and Aave Labs face criticism for redirecting interface swap revenue.
- CoWSwap partnership generates higher revenue, routed to Aave Labs rather than the Aave DAO.
- Community leaders demand transparency and accountability from Aave Labs.
- Multiple proposals have been submitted to reclaim control over brand assets and revenue streams.
Last week, a conflict erupted within the Aave community regarding revenue distribution from the platform’s interface swap feature. Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave Labs, faced backlash after the company partnered with CoWSwap to enhance the swap experience. This change shifted a lucrative revenue stream—estimated at over $10 million annualized—from the Aave DAO to Aave Labs, prompting concern among tokenholders and delegates.
The controversy began when the pseudonymous delegate Ezr3al questioned the decision in the DAO forum, highlighting that the previous provider, Velora (formerly Paraswap), generated $1.1 million in swaps revenue in 2025, which went to the DAO. The new CoWSwap integration’s fees, however, benefit Aave Labs. Ezr3al criticized this as an inappropriate attempt to profit using the Aave brand, which had been revamped through DAO funding this year.
Aave Labs responded by stating ownership and control over the user interface, arguing that swap fees support ongoing interface costs. The company suggested that the DAO could create its own interface if desired. Meanwhile, Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave Chan Initiative, stressed that service providers hired by the DAO have fiduciary responsibilities, implying a tacit agreement that interface revenues should return to the DAO, according to his statement.
Kulechov countered by describing previous revenue donations to the DAO as motivated by regulatory uncertainty, not obligation, and dismissed claims of fiduciary duty as “nonsense”, mentioned in a further discussion.
This dispute has led to multiple proposals in the DAO forum. One suggests purchasing a competing interface, Spark, while another—the “poison pill” proposal—seeks legal claim over all code, IP, and revenue generated by Aave Labs. A third proposal asks the DAO to gain control over brand assets such as social media accounts. Although the first two are unlikely to pass, all indicate the DAO’s desire to resolve the revenue and control issues.
The situation raises important questions about the alignment between the original developers and the community-led DAO. As Marc Zeller asked on X, “When you own $AAVE, what do you actually own?” He added that the coming weeks will clarify ownership and governance questions at the heart of this dispute.
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