Aave, a leading decentralized finance platform, has approved the Aave Will Win (AWW) proposal, marking a pivotal change in its financial and governance framework. The community backed the proposal with a strong majority, initiating a model where application incomes are redirected straight to the protocol’s DAO treasury for the first time.
AAVE token becomes central to all application revenue
The AWW proposal establishes AAVE as the sole strategic asset across the platform’s suite of decentralized financial products. Previously, revenue primarily came from the core borrowing and lending protocol. Under the revised structure, income sourced from Aave Pro, Aave App, Horizon, and swap features now feeds directly into the DAO’s treasury.
Aave has consistently ranked among the top DeFi lending protocols, facilitating borrowing and lending using various cryptocurrencies on multiple blockchain networks. Up to now, revenue streams were almost exclusively protocol-based, restricting the DAO’s direct access to all platform-generated income.
The latest figures reveal that Aave’s DAO earned $140 million in protocol revenue over 2025. For 2026, earnings are maintaining a comparable pace despite ongoing market challenges. Notably, swaps executed on Aave.com and Aave Pro have already added $10 million to $20 million in extra application income on top of core protocol gains.
With application earnings now included, Aave is moving toward a full-stack revenue approach. Features from recent upgrades—such as Aave V4’s reinvestment tools and expanding collateral support—are designed to further boost these new revenue streams.
Aave Labs, the development company behind the protocol and founded by Stani Kulechov, has indicated a firm intention to prioritize and exclusively support its ecosystem, unifying protocol utility under AAVE. Ownership and value generation are now more closely aligned for AAVE token holders than ever before.
Aave Labs founder Stani Kulechov explained on X that integrating application revenue means AAVE token holders will benefit from “ownership of brand, users, and integrations.”
Streamlined governance and transparent risk controls introduced
Governance changes under AWW also focus on eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy in decision-making. Service providers must now pursue well-defined, measurable goals, replacing less efficient operational processes of the past.
Kulechov emphasized that paid governance proposals are ending. Funding for service providers (SPs) will be conditional on real results, and requests will be considered only if budgets and deliverables are justified by clear benefits for the protocol.
All parties working with Aave are now required to provide comprehensive financial transparency. Ownership of intellectual property and value produced with treasury funds will remain wholly with the DAO, with no tolerance for arrangements that divert resources elsewhere.
For risk oversight, Aave will continue leveraging an internal team in Aave Labs to coordinate with established external risk managers such as Llama Risk and Token Logic. The approach aims to strengthen controls on economic as well as technical exposures.
Aave’s new dual-layer risk governance seeks to ensure a rapid, unified response to evolving market dynamics, while enhancing the protocol’s safety and efficiency as competition among DeFi platforms intensifies.
