Key Highlights
- Aave DAO plans to freeze low-earning V3 chains, focusing on profitable networks and smarter multichain growth.
- Future V3 deployments must generate at least $2M annually, ensuring Aave benefits from successful launches.
- Founder Stani Kulechov’s London mansion and new platform projects show continued confidence in DeFi’s long-term growth.
Aave DAO, the decentralized governance body of Aave protocol, is streamlining its multichain operations with a proposal to freeze V3 deployments on zkSync, Metis, and Soneium. The proposal, named “Focussing the Aave V3 Multichain Strategy – Phase 1”(ARFC), presents a plan to focus on profitable deployments and reduce operational complexity.
As per the proposal, Aave is targeting low-revenue chains to match cost, governance, and return. The ARFC also suggests that any future V3 deployment should ensure a $2 million annual revenue guarantee on the target chain, providing a clear upside for the protocol.
The proposal points out that there are V3 instances that have minimal activity, but they require continuous monitoring and governance involvement.
Aave V3’s multichain strategy, launched in 2022, aimed to improve accessibility on Layer-2 (L2) networks. However, zkSync, Metis, and Soneium show low user engagement and negligible growth, generating between $3,000 and $50,000 yearly. By contrast, the Ethereum mainnet deployment produces $142 million, illustrating a stark disparity in revenue contribution. Aave DAO argues that continuing low-performing deployments consumes attention better spent on high-revenue opportunities.
Strategic reasoning behind freezing deployments
Expanding Aave V3 across multiple chains brought a lot of work and challenges. Every network needs constant upkeep, updates, and monitoring. As a result, low-performing chains create extra risks without much benefit.
The proposal states that the decision to freeze these underperforming networks will reduce the workload, allowing the team to focus on the ones that are actually bringing results. Furthermore, it ensures that Aave benefits from the successful ones without wasting resources on the ones that are not growing.
Moreover, a revenue criterion for new deployments of V3 has also been proposed. As a result, future chains will need to ensure a minimum revenue of $2 million per annum. This is based on the value a new chain will derive from a proper deployment.
“The upfront and recurring costs mean the DAO must prioritize deployments that generate sufficient revenue to justify the time and risk involved,” the proposal reads.
Governance and community consensus
The freeze plan follows a preliminary vote to shut down low-performing V3 instances, which was passed by a landslide. In December 2025, the vote to shut down low-performing V3 instances recorded 99.96% voting “yes,” with 923,400 votes, and almost no “no” votes.
Before making it official, Aave DAO will gather feedback from service providers and the wider community. Once that’s done, the freeze will be put into action, and the $2 million minimum revenue requirement for new deployments will take effect.
Besides the proposal, Aave’s Founder Stani Kulechov is currently an active topic in public discussions; he recently bought a £22 million ($30 million) mansion in London. Even with ongoing tensions over who controls the Aave brand, his investment shows he still believes in the long-term growth of DeFi.
On top of that, Aave Labs keeps innovating. Projects like the CoW Swap integration and a reinvestment module for V4 show the team is working to strengthen the platform while supporting its multichain strategy.
Why this matters
Aave DAO’s decision to freeze V3 on low-earning chains and only consider those with a $2 million minimum revenue for a new launch indicates a well-thought-out approach. By only working on chains that generate real revenue, Aave can minimize unnecessary work while at the same time ensuring everyone stands to gain.
Also Read: Ethereum Layer-2 Vision No Longer Makes Sense: Vitalik Buterin
