Aave founder: DAOs have not failed, but they need to evolve to improve execution efficiency.

Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov stated that decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are not nearing their end, but must undergo structural evolution to improve decision-making efficiency and support the long-term development of protocols. Kulechov published a lengthy article on the X platform on Tuesday, summarizing his views on DAO governance models in light of recent Aave governance controversies. Previously, internal governance conflicts within the Aave DAO led to the temporary withdrawal of core contributing teams BGD Labs and ACI from protocol-related work, sparking widespread community discussion. Kulechov pointed out that current DAO governance models are often too slow, requiring weeks of forum discussions, temperature checks, and multiple rounds of formal voting, making it difficult for protocols to keep pace with market trends in decision-making and product iteration. Furthermore, DAO governance is prone to politicization, with participants potentially forming alliances and relying on influential opinions to drive proposals. He stated, "Many crypto project founders think this way, but rarely say it publicly—running a DAO the way we do it now is extremely difficult, and this difficulty isn't a technical challenge, but rather a daily struggle with the organizational structure itself." Nevertheless, Kulechov emphasized that DAOs still have significant value, but require optimization in governance structures and execution mechanisms to maintain decentralization while achieving more efficient execution capabilities, thereby helping Aave continue its expansion in the multi-trillion-dollar global lending market.