The Aave governance crisis continues to spook service providers and investors alike.
On Tuesday, the 3rd of March, Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), another key service provider, announced it will exit the Aave ecosystem in four months.
Like BGD Labs, which made a similar move last month, ACI cited Aave Labs’ aggressive control and lack of transparency as the reasons for the exit.
“There is no role for an independent service provider in an environment where the largest budget recipient (Aave Labs) holds undisclosed voting power and uses it on its own proposals.”
Source: Aave governance
In response, Aave Labs CEO and Founder Stani Kulechov acknowledged ACI and Marc Zeller’s contributions but maintained that their exit won’t affect the ecosystem.
“The protocol continues to operate as normal, and incentive programs are unaffected. Aave Labs will work with the DAO’s other service providers to make sure this transition is smooth for the community.”
Even so, the broader community reactions were mixed, and investor confidence appeared low.
Impact on the AAVE market
The ongoing governance crisis began in late 2025, after ACI’s Marc Zeller accused Aave Labs of stealing DAO revenue streams and brand rights.
To make amends, Aave Labs requested $50 million upfront in exchange for sharing 100% of revenue from products it built with the Aave DAO.
This Aave Labs’ proposal passed narrowly with a 52.58% majority, leaving critics such as ACI with no option but to leave.
For some analysts, the DAO has now lost control of the protocol roadmap and decision-making to Aave Labs. While others believe Aave will emerge stronger and continue to lead the lending sector, the governance rift has dented investors’ confidence in the near term.
Notably, the ACI exit update led to a nearly 10% drop in the Aave [AAVE] token price, from $127 to a low of $107 on the 3rd of March.
Source: AAVE/USDT, TradingView
While the token remained within the $100-$130 price range seen since February, a closer look at whale positions revealed deeper concerns.
According to Santiment data, key whale wallets holding 1 million to 10 million AAVE tokens (purple) have reduced their exposure by nearly half since late January. They trimmed the exposure from 4.7 million AAVE to 2.58 million AAVE.
Source: Santiment
Final Summary
- Aave service provider ACI said it will exit the ecosystem in four months, further deepening the ongoing governance rift.
- Some investors appeared worried as key whales reduced their AAVE exposure by half in 2026.
