Aave DAO Challenges Fee Flow to Labs in CoW Swap Dispute

Crypto News DeFi

Aave DAO Protests Fee Routing to Aave Labs in CoW Swap Deal

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: December 15, 2025

Key Takeaways

Aave DAO members are questioning why CoW Swap fees are sent to an Aave Labs wallet instead of the DAO treasury;
Aave Labs said it manages user interfaces and funded the integration code, which justifying control over the fees;
Community delegates, including Marc Zeller, view the decision as harmful to DAO interests and Aave’s ecosystem.

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Aave DAO Protests Fee Routing to Aave Labs in CoW Swap Deal

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A disagreement has broken out in the Aave AAVE $183.94 community about how fees from its new partnership with CoW Swap are being handled.

The argument has drawn attention to who should control the income generated through Aave’s products, the DAO or Aave Labs.

The issue was first brought up by a community member known as EzR3aL. They claimed that fees collected from trades made through CoW Swap are not being sent to the DAO’s treasury.

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Instead, the funds appear to be going to a wallet controlled by Aave Labs.

EzR3aL questioned why this change was made without the DAO's input and argued that the earnings belong to the community. They estimated that about $200,000 in Ethereum ETH $2,949.90 is being redirected each week, which totals about $10 million a year.

In response, Aave Labs explained that it has always handled the user-facing parts of Aave’s platform, including the website and app. The company said that while protocol-level updates are decided by the DAO, operational features tied to the interface fall under its own responsibility.

Aave Labs also stated that it funded the development of the "adapters", the code that enables the CoW Swap integration. However, this answer did not ease concerns.

Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave-Chan Initiative, a group that represents DAO members in governance matters, described the decision to send all fees to Aave Labs as concerning and said it shifts user activity away from Aave’s ecosystem.

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