Trump’s SEC ended its four-year investigation into Aave Labs with no action

Trump’s SEC closed its four-year review of Aave Labs, ending a case that had hung over the project since 2021. Founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said on X:

“After four years, we are finally ready to share that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol. DeFi has faced unfair regulatory pressure in recent years. We’re glad to put this behind us as we enter a new era where developers can truly build the future of finance. DeFi will win.”

Aave holders push governance change

Right after the update from Stani, a fresh governance proposal appeared, asking AAVE holders to take full control of the Aave brand, domains, social media, naming rights, and developer gateways.

After four years, we are finally ready to share that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol.

This process demanded significant effort and resources from our team, and from me personally as the founder, to protect Aave, its ecosystem, and DeFi more… pic.twitter.com/aZeLrZz5ZQ

— Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) December 16, 2025

The proposal states that any non-DAO party using aave.com, subdomains, communication channels, or online assets should not control them alone. It asks the DAO to request these assets through a vote and move them to a legal setup with protections.

The proposal also says app.aave.com can be considered a product of Aave Labs, but argues that the domain itself is separate from the software and that monetising any application depends heavily on brand access and the gateway effect of aave.com.

The proposal says private groups cannot call themselves Aave or present themselves as “being Aave” without a service deal.

It says the DAO cannot represent itself through another entity because that weakens the DAO’s control and creates a situation where a third party could put its own interests first.

It also warns that leaving this matter unresolved puts the DAO model at risk, including all service providers working for the DAO on equal terms.

One example cited is BGD Labs, created in 2022. Its contributor says the team has helped build Aave, is paid well, but never gained the right to use the Aave name.

The proposal warns that if one group controls brand assets, every other contributor becomes subordinate, which changes incentives across the ecosystem and restricts fair work for all groups involved in $AAVE.

The proposal says the DAO does not need guidance from any single group and that its system evolves through updates and changes decided by holders. It says no outside group should argue that certain decisions are needed “for Aave” or “for everybody.”

The proposal then adds that many DAOs give their token holders control of trademarks, domains, and communication channels, and notes that AAVE holders have the same basis for that claim.

The DAO argues that saying the brand does not belong to holders is “dubious” both in practice and in principle.

It also clarifies that the debate is not judging Aave Labs as a contributor, not tied to past disputes over swap features, not related to legal limits of building an entity for domain ownership, and not blocking Aave from managing communication or gateways in the future either.

According to the proposal, the DAO only asks for holders to signal control and ownership, with any management role decided later through normal DAO processes.

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