Aave founder embroiled in DAO governance dispute after spending $10 million to purchase AAVE tokens

According to Cointelegraph, Aave founder Stani Kulechov has come under scrutiny for spending $10 million to buy AAVE tokens, with some members of the crypto community believing that this move is intended to enhance his voting power in a key governance proposal.

DeFi strategist and liquidity expert Robert Mullins stated that the purpose of this purchase is to increase Kulechov's voting power in order to support a proposal that directly harms the best interests of token holders in the upcoming vote. He added, "This is a clear example of how the token mechanism has not been adequately designed to effectively curb governance attacks."

Notable crypto KOL Sisyphus also expressed similar concerns, stating that Kulechov may have sold millions of dollars worth of AAVE tokens between 2021 and 2025, and questioned the economic motives behind this repurchase.

This controversy arises as Aave token holders are discussing how to exercise governance rights over one of this DeFi protocol. Critics point out that large token purchases could significantly influence voting outcomes in high-risk governance proposals.