‘A hostile takeover attempt’: Aave Labs’ unilateral push to vote on brand-rights proposal sparks community outcry

Governance tensions within the Aave DAO escalated when Aave Labs unilaterally moved a proposal concerning brand-asset ownership to a Snapshot vote, bypassing ongoing community debate. The proposal seeks to give AAVE token holders explicit control over assets like domains and social handles currently managed by Aave Labs and others. The proposal's original author, Ernesto Boado, condemned the move as "disgraceful" and a rush that disregarded active discussion, urging tokenholders to abstain. Prominent delegate Marc Zeller characterized the action as a "hostile takeover attempt by Labs," criticizing the timing during the holiday period and suggesting it was optimized for outcome over legitimacy. Aave Founder Stani Kulechov defended the move as a step toward clarity after "extensive discussion." This dispute follows recent friction over revenue from Aave's CoW Swap integration, leading to suggestions of absorbing Aave Labs entirely, and coincided with a slump in the AAVE token price.

(Source：The Block)