Aave founder faces DAO governance controversy after spending $10 million to purchase AAVE tokens

BlockBeats News, December 24, according to Cointelegraph, Aave founder Stani Kulechov has recently faced scrutiny for purchasing $10 million worth of AAVE tokens, with some members of the crypto community believing that this move was intended to increase his voting power in a key governance proposal.

DeFi strategist and liquidity expert Robert Mullins stated that the purpose of this purchase was to boost Kulechov's voting power so that he could support an upcoming proposal that directly undermines the best interests of token holders. He added, "This is a clear example showing that the token mechanism has not been adequately designed to effectively prevent governance attacks."

Well-known 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 motivation behind his recent buyback.

This controversy arises as Aave token holders are currently discussing how governance rights should be exercised in one of the leading DeFi protocols. Critics point out that large token purchases could substantially influence voting outcomes in high-risk governance proposals.