The Aave decentralized autonomous organization has voted to launch a new version of its protocol, designated Aave v4, on the Ethereum blockchain. The near-unanimous governance vote on Monday represents a key initial step for the “next-generation credit infrastructure.” Aave v4 will launch with conservative parameters and minimal assets if it passes a final upcoming vote, prioritizing security above immediate expansion for the largest protocol in decentralized finance, which currently holds over $25 billion in user deposits.
The Aave DAO has voted to launch Aave v4 on Ethereum, clearing a preliminary hurdle for the new protocol version. The near-unanimous support follows internal contention, including the departures of two major contributors, Bored Ghosts Developing and Aave Chan Initiative. Both entities stated they will not seek contract renewal this year.
Creator Aave Labs had previously pushed to prioritize v4 development over improvements to the current v3. The company even proposed altering v3’s parameters to encourage user migration, a plan Bored Ghosts criticized as “borderline outrageous.” Aave Labs later wrote in the governance forum that there would be “no forced migration.”
The company asserts v3 will remain a core part of the ecosystem as long as the DAO chooses. However, it argues v4 will significantly boost DAO revenue through a hub-and-spoke model for tailored lending markets. The approved proposal states v4 will launch with “conservative parameters and minimal assets.” The DAO can later adjust caps and onboard new assets when conditions support it.
