Governance

The Aave DAO is a decentralised collective of AAVE token holders and contributors who work together to shape the future of the protocol through a structured governance process. This community-driven model enables participants to propose, discuss, and vote on critical changes, guiding the evolution of the protocol and aligning with the collective goals of its members.

Aave's governance process is structured so that the protocol remains decentralised, secure, and adaptable. The lifecycle of a proposal is carefully designed to allow community members to present ideas, vote on them, and execute approved changes through a transparent and structured process.

Off-chain votes are used to measure community sentiment during the early stages of proposal development (Temp Checks and ARFCs). These non-binding votes take place on Snapshot and last for three days, allowing token holders to participate without transaction fees.

Once a proposal reaches the AIP stage, onchain voting is required. Token holders, delegates, or delegators vote on proposals using their AAVE, stkAAVE, or aAAVE tokens. The process is secured through various governance interfaces, including Aave Labs, BGD Labs, and Boardroom.

Since voting can occur on multiple networks, this can create limitations for smart contract wallets that only exist on one network. To accommodate this, governance interfaces can be used to setup voting representatives, which allows a separate voting address to be designated for each network.

Aave has predefined frameworks for common types of proposals, simplifying the governance process:

These frameworks streamline governance and allow the community to focus on more complex issues while maintaining the protocol's security and adaptability.

Delegates are entrusted with voting power by other community members or through self-delegation. They actively participate in governance by voting on proposals on behalf of those who have delegated their voting rights. Some delegates are compensated through the Orbit program for their contributions.

Delegators are community members who hold AAVE, stkAAVE, or aAAVE tokens but choose to delegate their voting power to another individual or entity. This allows them to have their interests represented in governance without directly participating in every vote.

Contributors dedicate time and resources to the Aave DAO by engaging in working groups, completing bounties, building on the protocol, or working through grants. These efforts help maintain and improve the Aave ecosystem.

Service providers offer essential services to the protocol, such as risk management, financial oversight, security, and development. Examples of service providers include:

The Aave Community Guardians are a group of community-elected signers authorized to execute limited emergency protections.

The Aave Guardians have responsibilities divided between two multi-signature wallets, with roles and signers listed below.

The Protocol Emergency Guardian is the holder of the EMERGENCY_ADMIN role for Aave protocol markets and failsafe emergency actor for cross-chain messaging in Emergency Mode.

The Protocol Emergency Guardian is a 5 of 9 multi-signature wallet consisting of the following community-elected signers:

The Governance Emergency Guardian is tasked to protect the Aave Protocol against potential governance takeovers by having the ability to “veto” an onchain payload if it is deemed malicious.

The Governance Emergency Guardian is a 5 of 9 multi-signature wallet consisting of the following community-elected signers:

Stewards have delegated responsibility over specific protocol parameters, allowing the DAO to quickly respond to market changes. Stewards manage areas such as the GHO stablecoin, liquidity parameters, and treasury operations. This system streamlines governance by reducing the need for frequent votes on minor adjustments, promoting efficiency.