A representative of Bitwise noted that the new governance proposal from Aave has become a rare positive event for DeFi during the crypto winter period.
Four months after the crash from a record $126K, sentiment around Bitcoin remains fragile. The asset has not managed to recover confidently, which has fueled talk of a new crypto winter.
However, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan believes that decentralized finance in particular can help the market emerge from the current bear phase. In his view, investors are increasingly looking not at speculation, but at fundamental indicators: real users, revenue, and sustainable project value.
Aave in the Spotlight
In a recent post, Matt Hougan commented on the governance proposal published by the Aave Labs team, which is behind the lending protocol Aave. He called the document titled “Aave Will Win” an example of why DeFi may be entering a new phase.
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According to Hougan, protocols like Uniswap and Aave already operate as full-fledged businesses. Uniswap at times processes a higher spot trading volume than Coinbase. Aave, in turn, generates more than $100M in annual revenue.
At the same time, DeFi tokens overall have shown weak performance. This is largely due to their structure. Most were created as governance tokens. They grant voting rights but do not provide direct access to protocol revenue.
Hougan explained that this model emerged as a response to regulatory pressure. In particular, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission applied the Howey test to determine whether tokens could be considered securities.
According to him, Aave tried to solve this problem through “Aavenomics” updates in 2024 and 2025. At that time, a token buyback mechanism was launched using protocol fees. However, disputes continued. Aave Labs could still direct part of the revenue for its own benefit. In December 2025, the company allocated $10M from swap fees, which again raised questions.
The new “Aave Will Win” proposal aims to change this model. Aave Labs commits to direct 100% of revenue from all products under the brand, including the website, mobile app, card, and institutional services, directly to the DAO treasury, which is governed by token holders.
In exchange, the team will receive a funding package. It includes stablecoins, Aave tokens, and milestone-based grants totaling about $50M. These funds are planned to be used for the development of Aave V4 and the transfer of intellectual property to the community. At the same time, Aave and trademarks will be held in a separate fund.
In Hougan’s opinion, this structure changes the role of the token. It stops being just a voting tool and gains a direct link to protocol revenue. And the founding team becomes a service provider accountable to token holders.
Criticism
The proposal sparked debate in the community. Some participants consider the requested funding too large. Others point out that the document combines several initiatives at once, which could have been considered separately.
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There are also questions about the details. In particular, it is not entirely clear how exactly revenue will be determined and who will control its distribution.
Hougan called these remarks justified. At the same time, he added that Aave’s move could be a signal for other projects. In his opinion, if the model proves effective, a similar approach could be adopted by other crypto assets as well.
