Aave DAO rejected the brand ownership request after a management vote

Aave token holders have voted against a controversial governance proposal to put the protocol's brand assets under the ownership of the DAO.

On Friday, the snap election was closed with 55.29% voting “no” and 41.21% voting by ballot. Only 3.5% of voters supported the proposal.

The proposal asks whether Aave (AAVE) token holders should control Aave's domains, social handles, naming rights and other intellectual property through an entity under a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Supporters framed the move as a step toward decentralization and clarifying questions of brand stewardship.

The rejection has shut down the strained administration of Aave, one of the largest lending protocols in decentralized finance (DeFi). He pointed out how time, expansion and participation shape governance outcomes in DAO.

Community members point to deeper token-equity tensions

Beyond the vote itself, the rejection raised deep concerns among influencers about how value management and governance is structured at Aave.

Evgeny Gaevoy, founder and CEO of Wintermutt, said on X that the business firm opposed the proposal and urged Ave Labs to seriously engage in long-term alignment.

Gaevoy says that holding token value is critical not just for Aave, but for the broader crypto ecosystem, saying success on this front could serve as a model for other protocols struggling with similar challenges.

Meanwhile, anonymous Lido consultant Hassu framed the debate as part of a fundamental problem with token-equity dual structures.

Hsu argued in X's post that combining governance signals with separate elements of equity creates perverse incentives and is “fundamentally corrupt” and makes effective governance difficult.

According to Hassu, such structures have fallen out of favor during a time of regulatory hostility, and long-term investors see them as transitional rather than permanent.

“As a long-term investor in Ave, I hope all parties can come to the table and devise a solution that balances everything in a single token or equity structure,” Hsu wrote.

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Administrative tensions arose before the final vote.

The reason for the rejection, which lasted for days, was that the good governance discussion about how the proposal was brought to a vote turned into a serious disagreement over the process and authority.

Critics objected to the decision to fast-track the screenshot as earlier discussions continued. Some have argued that the move limits participation and undermines governance norms.

The dispute arose as Aave founder Stany Kulekov faced an investigation into management influence. Kulekov reportedly bought $10 million worth of AAVE tokens before the vote.

Community members argued the episode highlighted a structural weakness in token-based governance, where large holders could influence outcomes.

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