Aave community rallies behind V4 Ethereum deployment

Aave’s community has moved a step closer to launching V4 on Ethereum after a governance proposal won near-unanimous backing. The result points to broader support for the upgrade after several weeks of public tension inside the DAO and the exit plans of key contributors.

Summary

• Aave DAO strongly backed V4, moving the protocol closer to Ethereum mainnet deployment.
• The vote followed governance tension and exit plans from key Aave contributors recently.
• Aave V4 introduces modular hubs and spokes for shared liquidity and tailored risk.

A Snapshot vote on Monday showed more than 645,000 votes in favor of moving Aave V4 toward Ethereum mainnet deployment. Fewer than one vote opposed the plan, and there were no abstentions, according to reporting on the outcome.

The vote does not activate the system on its own. Aave founder Stani Kulechov said the proposal is expected to advance to an Aave Improvement Proposal, which would be the binding onchain vote needed to deploy and activate V4 on Ethereum.

V4 brings a new modular design

Aave Labs presented V4 as a protocol built around a hub-and-spoke structure. Under that model, shared liquidity sits in “Hubs,” while “Spokes” define separate borrowing markets with their own limits and risk settings.

Aave Labs said this structure is meant to keep the benefits of shared liquidity while giving the protocol tighter control over risk across different markets. The design is also intended to support a wider range of use cases, including new collateral types and structured credit markets.

Governance tensions shaped the backdrop

The strong support for V4 follows a period of strain inside Aave governance. In a forum post published on February 20, BGD Labs said it would end its involvement with Aave after nearly four years, citing an “asymmetric organizational scenario” and what it called an “adversarial position” toward its work on V3.

That dispute widened in early March when the Aave Chan Initiative said it would not seek renewal of its engagement with the DAO. Marc Zeller wrote that ACI would wind down over four months after a clash over funding, governance standards, and voting dynamics.

In addition, the latest vote suggests the DAO is now more aligned on the path forward for V4. It also gives Aave Labs a clearer route to seek final approval for Ethereum mainnet activation through the next governance stage.