Aave governance controversy escalates: ACI releases "Aave Labs Audit" report, intensifying tensions on the eve of a $51 million grant proposal.

Community governance conflicts within Aave have escalated again. The Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) and its founder, Marc Zeller, released an "audit" report on Aave Labs ahead of a vote on a $51 million proposal dubbed "the largest funding request in Aave history," sparking widespread discussion. ACI stated on social media that the community should review Aave Labs' past performance and the use of its approximately $86 million in funding before the "$51M Aave Will Win" proposal enters the Snapshot vote. Zeller claimed that ACI had already released its own transparency report and used the same framework of "what was delivered, how much did it cost, and what were the returns" to evaluate Aave Labs. The report states that Aave Labs has accumulated approximately $86 million in "total capitalization," including: $16.2 million from its 2017 ICO, $32.5 million from VC funding rounds, $31.93 million in direct grants from its DAO, and approximately $5.5 million in allegedly "unapproved" swap fees. Zeller also mentions that the founding team held 23% of the initial LEND supply (later migrated to AAVE), but the current AAVE holdings are not publicly disclosed. The report questions Aave Labs' failure to release an "accountability report" including cost-benefit analysis, financial disclosures, and wallet transparency, arguing that information disclosure remains insufficient given the large amount of funding received over a long period. (The Block)