Aave Founder responded to the voice of management with a new strategy

Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulekov outlined the protocol's broader strategic vision following a controversial management vote rejecting a proposal to transfer control of Ave's product assets and intellectual property to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

The failed vote sparked renewed debate within the Ave community over the protocol's long-term direction and governance structure, an issue Kulekov addressed directly.

In a post published Friday on Aave's governance forum, Kulekov argued that the protocol should evolve beyond its core decentralized finance (DeFi) lending business to pursue opportunities in real-world assets (RWAs), institutional lending and consumer-facing financial products.

He described the community as “at a crossroads,” and pointed out that the future direction of DeFi's growth will not be without a broader market expansion.

Significantly, Kulechov Aave Labs plans to distribute non-protocol revenues to Aave (AAVE) tokenholders, which could expand how the token holds value beyond management involvement. He added that Ave Labs plans to propose a new governance proposal to address intellectual property ownership and brand-related rights, following community pushback from a previous initiative.

Kulekov's post seems to be aimed at moving society away from short-term management disputes and toward a more coordinated long-term strategy. Highlighting RWAs in particular, he described the sector as having a potential of $500 trillion in global financial assets.

Ave is one of the biggest DeFi protocols, with a total valuation of more than $45 billion in October, according to industry data.

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The controversy at the heart of Ave management

As Cointelegraph reports, Aave's latest governance controversy centers on whether it should regulate and benefit from payments generated by cryptocurrency swaps within the ecosystem.

Some of those swaps will be channeled through CoW Swap, a decentralized trading service that allows users to exchange tokens from Aave. A dispute arose over whether the revenue associated with these exchanges should be Aave's DAO representing the tokens, or whether it should remain under the control of developers at Aave Labs.

Some members of the Ave community also pointed out that Kulekov's recent purchase of $15 million worth of AAVE tokens was an attempt to influence the governance vote, strongly denying the claim that the purchase reflected personal “guilt” in the protocol rather than an effort to sway the outcome.

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