Aave Labs vs Aave DAO + Who Owns DeFi Protocols

Aave’s governance civil war turned into a simple question: who actually owns the protocol, the code, the front end, or the brand. The crew broke down how the conflict escalated into proposals to move trademarks, domains, and social accounts to the DAO, then a Snapshot vote about explicit control over key brand assets. From there, they widened the lens to DAO legitimacy, using Gnosis and the KPK controversy as a case study in off-chain coordination and power concentration. They also touched on a more constructive model through tokenized real estate, where each property sits in its own DAO and holders vote on decisions like re-renting versus selling. The through-line was that governance incentives set the outcome, and Aave’s fight matters because it sets precedent. Subscribe:Coffee with Captain Newsletter: https://coffeewithcaptain.beehiiv.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithcaptainshow Follow on X:Captain Zwingli: https://x.com/ChrisJourdan This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information shared on this podcast is meant to be taken as financial advice. Chris and guest speakers may hold tokens discussed Check Out: The Everything Token: A Book on Web3 and NFTs