BGD Labs is Leaving Aave DAO: Reasons and Impacts

BGD Labs, one of the core technical contributors to the decentralized finance protocol AAVE, announced that it will terminate its relationship with Aave DAO as of April 1 following four years of involvement. In the forum post, it stated that the DAO “poorly managed the asymmetric organizational scenario” and adopted a “hostile attitude” promoting v4 features against the protocol’s v3 version. It expressed that this situation restricted v3 development efforts and wasted their potential.

BGD Labs’ Reasons for Separation from Aave DAO

BGD Labs emphasized that development efforts focused on Aave’s v3 version were hindered by the DAO’s approach prioritizing v4. This conflict slowed the protocol’s evolution and inefficiently used team resources. BGD has contributed to strengthening Aave’s infrastructure for years through AAVE futures integrations and chain expansions.

Contributions Continuing Until April 1 and Beyond

Contributions to v3, Umbrella, chain expansions, security, and asset integrations will continue unchanged until April 1. After separation, maintenance guides for existing projects will be provided, with no direct handover available. BGD proposed a two-month $200,000 security retainer to the community after April. This step aims to protect protocol security during the transition.

AAVE Price and Current Technical Analysis

• Price: $115.87 (24h Change: -5.47%)
• RSI: 39.88 (Near Oversold Region)
• Trend: Downtrend (Supertrend: Bearish, EMA 20: $124.77)
• Supports: S1 $111.36 (Strong, 75% score), S2 $106.49
• Resistances: R1 $118.95 (Strong, 78% score), R2 $139.96

With the BGD separation news, AAVE is approaching the strong S1 support; short-term recovery potential is limited.

Stani Kulechov and Community Reactions

Aave CEO Stani Kulechov stated that he respects BGD’s decision and praised their contributions to the DeFi ecosystem. Users largely reacted positively to the separation, expressed concern over the loss of a major contributor, and raised DAO structural issues. This development may open discussions on Aave’s governance model.