List of questions about [Aave]

The decentralized finance giant Aave is redefining its priorities once again. In a strategic shift that signals a renewed commitment to its DeFi roots, Aave has officially handed over the stewardship of Lens Protocol to Mask Network. Rather than an exit or acquisition, the move represents a recalibration of roles, allowing Lens to evolve faster on the consumer side while Aave concentrates on protocol-level innovation.

The transition marks an important moment for decentralized social infrastructure, especially as competition intensifies across Web3 social platforms. Lens, long positioned as a foundational layer rather than a consumer-facing app, is now preparing for its next phase of growth with Mask Network at the helm of product execution.

Why Aave Is Refocusing on Core DeFi Infrastructure

Aave founder Stani Kulechov confirmed that Aave will significantly narrow its involvement with Lens, shifting into a technical advisory role. The decision reflects Aave’s intention to concentrate its resources on decentralized finance, lending markets and protocol scalability rather than managing social applications.

From Aave’s perspective, Lens has reached a level of maturity where infrastructure stewardship no longer requires direct operational leadership. By stepping back from day-to-day execution, Aave is reinforcing its long-standing philosophy of building open systems and allowing specialized teams to drive adoption and innovation on top of them.

This approach mirrors a broader trend across Web3, where protocols increasingly separate infrastructure from user-facing products in order to scale more efficiently.

Mask Network Takes Control of the User Experience

With the handover complete, Mask Network now assumes responsibility for advancing Lens at the application layer. This includes shaping the product roadmap, refining user experience, guiding design decisions and overseeing the operational direction of social applications built on the Lens ecosystem.

Mask Network brings extensive experience in integrating blockchain features into social and messaging platforms, positioning it as a natural fit to drive Lens toward broader consumer adoption. Applications like Orb and future Lens-based products will now be developed with a sharper focus on usability, distribution and mainstream accessibility.

Despite the leadership shift, Lens remains fully open-source and permissionless. The protocol’s onchain social graph, profiles, follows and smart contracts continue to belong to the ecosystem rather than any single entity.

Lens Remains Infrastructure, Not a Platform

From the beginning, Lens was never intended to compete with traditional social networks as a standalone platform. Launched by Aave in 2022, the protocol was designed to give users ownership of their social identities and content through blockchain-based profiles and NFTs.

That vision has remained consistent. Lens exists as a shared social layer where multiple applications can coexist, interact and grow without locking users into a single interface. This structure allows developers to avoid the  cold start  problem, since new apps can immediately tap into an existing social graph rather than building an audience from scratch.

By transferring stewardship to Mask Network while preserving open access, Lens strengthens its original mission as neutral social infrastructure rather than a branded front-end product.

Vitalik Buterin Weighs In on the Future of Decentralized Social

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly welcomed the transition, praising Aave’s stewardship of Lens and expressing optimism about what lies ahead. According to Buterin, decentralized social networks are essential for improving online discourse, precisely because they allow multiple clients to build on top of a shared data layer.

In 2026, Buterin himself has returned to decentralized social platforms, noting that his activity now flows through multi-client tools such as Firefly, which support Lens alongside Farcaster, X and Bluesky. His comments underscore a growing belief that the future of social media lies not in single dominant platforms, but in interoperable ecosystems driven by open data.

What This Means for Web3 Users and Investors

The Lens transition reflects a larger maturation of the Web3 space. Infrastructure protocols are becoming more focused, while consumer products are increasingly led by teams specialized in user adoption and experience. For users, this separation promises better-designed applications without compromising decentralization.

For investors and traders following the evolution of Web3 ecosystems, such structural shifts often signal long-term confidence rather than retreat. Platforms like BYDFi, which provide access to major DeFi tokens and emerging Web3 projects, allow users to track and trade assets connected to these evolving narratives. As decentralized social and DeFi continue to intersect, staying informed through reliable trading platforms becomes increasingly important.

A Strategic Shift, Not a Step Back

Ultimately, Aave’s decision to hand Lens stewardship to Mask Network is not about abandonment, but focus. By narrowing its role to protocol-level advisory work, Aave reinforces its identity as a DeFi infrastructure leader. At the same time, Lens gains a dedicated steward committed to pushing consumer adoption forward.

As decentralized social continues to mature, this transition may be remembered as a pivotal moment where infrastructure and product execution finally found their optimal balance.

The digital air within the Aave ecosystem crackled with tension this week. A governance vote—more than a mere poll, but a bitter clash of ideals—had just concluded, leaving a proposal in tatters and the community divided. At its heart was a fundamental question: Who truly owns the soul of a decentralized giant?

The answer, for now, is a resounding not yet.

The defeated plan sought to transfer Aave's brand assets and intellectual property to its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Its failure was not an endpoint, but a detonation—one that forced Aave's founder, Stani Kulechov, to step into the fray with a sweeping manifesto for the future. This isn't merely about next-quarter features; it's a blueprint for an existential evolution.

The Crossroads: From DeFi Niche to Financial Colossus

In a decisive post to the community, Kulechov framed this moment as a critical juncture. The message was clear: resting on the laurels of being a premier DeFi lending protocol is a path to obsolescence. The future he paints is audaciously expansive.

He envisions Aave bursting beyond the confines of crypto-native lending, stretching its tentacles into the vast, untapped oceans of real-world assets (RWAs)—a market he frames as a staggering $500 trillion opportunity. The blueprint also includes forging pathways for institutional capital and crafting consumer-facing financial products that could bring DeFi to the masses.

This is a vision of Aave not just as a tool for the cryptographically savvy, but as a foundational layer for a new, open global financial system.

The Golden Carrot: Rewriting the Token's Value Proposition

Perhaps the most electrifying revelation for AAVE tokenholders was the promise of a transformed value model. Kulechov declared that Aave Labs plans to distribute non-protocol revenue directly to tokenholders.

This move is revolutionary. It proposes to shatter the current paradigm where the token's utility is largely governance-based. Imagine fees from new institutional services or RWA ventures flowing not just to the treasury, but into the pockets of those who steward the network. It’s a powerful gambit to align long-term incentives and supercharge the token's fundamental appeal.

Governance in the Crucible: The Fight Over Fees and Influence

The catalyst for this grand vision was a bruising governance battle, revealing deep fissures beneath the surface. The conflict centered on a seemingly technical issue: who should capture the revenue generated from token swaps routed through Aave’s interface via services like CoW Swap?

Was this income rightfully belonging to the collective DAO, or should it remain with the core developers at Aave Labs? The vote became a proxy war over control, transparency, and the very meaning of decentralization.

Adding fuel to the fire were murmurs about Kulechov's recent personal purchase of $15 million worth of AAVE tokens. Critics saw a play for voting power; the founder rebuffed it as a pure signal of personal conviction. This episode laid bare the perennial, thorny dance between founder influence and decentralized governance.

The Path Forward: A Phoenix from the Ashes

Unfazed, Kulechov has already signaled the next move. A new governance proposal is being drafted to revisit the issues of intellectual property and brand rights—a direct response to the community's pushback. This time, however, the conversation will be framed within the context of his expansive new strategic universe.

The subtext is potent: let us move beyond internal skirmishes over slices of today's pie, and focus instead on building a pie so vast it could redefine global finance.

With over $45 billion in value locked within its smart contracts, Aave is already a DeFi titan. But the week's events prove that even titans must evolve or risk being chained to the past. The bitter vote was not a conclusion, but a chaotic opening act. The next act will determine whether Aave becomes a footnote in the history of decentralized lending, or the foundation for something immeasurably larger.

The community’s voice has been heard, loudly. Now, they are being asked to look not at their feet, but at the horizon. The stakes, for Aave and for DeFi, have never been higher.