TLDR

Aave Labs submitted a brand control proposal without the original author’s consent, escalating DAO governance tensions.
The AAVE price has dropped 18% in one week, including 4.75% in one day.
Ernesto Boado disavowed the proposal submission, criticizing the rushed timeline and lack of prior notice.
Aave Labs replaced ParaSwap with CoW Swap, redirecting $200K/week in fees from the DAO to company-controlled addresses.
Founder Stani Kulechov purchased 84,033 AAVE worth $12.6M in a week, currently facing an unrealized loss of $2.2M.

In our recent report, Blockonomi revealed the ongoing misunderstanding between Aave Labs and the DAO over protocol ownership and governance. The tension escalated after Aave Labs submitted a brand control proposal to Snapshot without the original author’s consent.

Boado Disavows Vote Submission by Aave Labs

A recap of what really happened, as per our report, reveals that Ernesto Boado, co-founder of BGD Labs, publicly rejected the vote, stating, “This is not, in ethos, my proposal.”  He confirmed that Aave Labs submitted the draft without notice and objected to the rushed timeline during the holidays.

The proposal sought to transfer ownership of key assets like aave.com, GitHub, and social accounts to a DAO-controlled entity.  Boado clarified that he would not have approved the current version or timing of the submission.  Stani Kulechov, Aave’s founder, responded by defending the vote’s legality under the DAO’s governance process.

Earlier, Aave Labs replaced ParaSwap with CoW Swap, shifting $200K/week in fees from the DAO to itself. Delegates said the change lacked approval and diverted revenue generated through the DAO’s liquidity.  Aave Labs argued the frontend remains separate and voluntary contributions were never guaranteed.

AAVE Price Drops to $152

According to the latest CoinMarketCap data, AAVE price is currently trading at $152.49, representing a 4.75% decrease over the last 24 hours. The AAVE price has shown a consistent downward trend throughout the day, with a brief recovery failing to hold above $154. The chart indicates a peak near $161, followed by a steady decline.

Source: CoinMarketCap

The market cap has also dropped 4.75%, now sitting at $2.33 billion. Trading volume, however, rose 34.59% over the same period, reaching $708.52 million. The volume-to-market capitalization ratio is currently 30.44%, indicating increased short-term activity.

AAVE’s fully diluted valuation stands at $2.43 billion, while total value locked (TVL) is reported at $33.74 billion. The market cap-to-TVL ratio is 0.06928, indicating a disparity between token value and protocol usage.

Stani Kulechov Accumulates 84K AAVE, Faces $2.2M Unrealized Loss

Despite the ongoing saga and AAVE price dip, a post on X by Lookonchain reveals that Stani Kulechov executed multiple AAVE-related transactions through Gnosis Safe and CoW Protocol. He purchased a total of 32,660 AAVE, valued at approximately $5.15 million, at an average price of $158. The transactions include inflows and outflows involving WETH and AAVE, routed via settlement contracts.

Stani Kulechov(@StaniKulechov), the founder of @Aave, bought 32,660 $AAVE($5.15M) at $158 again 7 hours ago.

He has bought a total of 84,033 $AAVE($12.6M) at an average cost of $176 over the past week, currently sitting on an unrealized loss of $2.2M.https://t.co/HEXO1r7uQK pic.twitter.com/k0pWQCmwGr

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 23, 2025

He received 935.234 WETH from CoW Protocol and transferred 48.793 WETH back, equaling about $147.7K. Other transactions show repeated movement of WETH and Aave Labs tokens between wallets linked to him and the protocol. One entry indicates 569.329 AAVE moved from CoW Protocol to Stani Kulechov’s Gnosis wallet.

Over the past week, Stani accumulated a total of 84,033 AAVE, valued at $12.6 million, at an average cost of $176. Based on the current AAVE market price, his position shows an unrealized loss of approximately $2.2 million.

The post AAVE Price: Governance Clash Triggers 18% Weekly Drop as Stani Kulechov Buys the Dip appeared first on Blockonomi.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ December 23, 2025 6:19 am