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Received today β€” 24 December 2025

Whales Add $3 Million in AAVE as Governance Uncertainty Pressures Price

24 December 2025 at 00:00

The AAVE price has been under steady pressure. The token is down nearly 5% over the past 24 hours and more than 18% over the past seven days. That weakness has played out alongside ongoing DAO governance disputes and renewed sell-off fears.

On the surface, this looks like a distribution. Exchange balances are rising, and sentiment has cooled. But under the hood, something does not line up. While supply is moving toward exchanges, large holders have quietly stepped in, treating the sell-off as an entry point rather than an exit. The question now is simple. What bullish setup are whales positioning for while the market focuses on governance risk?

Exchange Supply Rises as Governance Pressure Lingers

Aave’s sell-off did not appear out of nowhere. Governance tensions have been building for weeks, creating uncertainty around revenue flows and DAO control. That uncertainty has shown up clearly in on-chain supply data.

🚨 @aave is having a full blown civil war

And it might be the biggest governance fight defi has ever seen.

Heres a clean breakdown πŸ‘‡

Aave has two sides:
– Aave labs β†’ a centralised entity founded by stani
– Aave dao β†’ token holders who govern the protocol

Now heres what… pic.twitter.com/zFnhcN5vSc

β€” Observe (@obsrvgmi) December 22, 2025

Since December 16 (Poison Pill proposal day), AAVE supply on exchanges has climbed from roughly 1.22 million tokens to about 1.42 million tokens. That is an increase of nearly 200,000 AAVE, or roughly 16%, in just over a week.

Aave DAO Faces Governance Clash Over Control of Aave Labs πŸ‘€

An AAVE token holder has proposed a controversial β€œpoison pill” strategy that would allow the Aave DAO to seize control of Aave Labs’ intellectual property, brand, and equity, effectively turning the company into a DAO… pic.twitter.com/SC1gd1KYhs

β€” Karon (@pangestu_karon) December 18, 2025

Rising exchange balances usually signal potential selling pressure, and the price action confirms that concern, with AAVE sliding almost 18% over the same period.

Exchange Balances Grow
Exchange Balances Grow: Santiment

Want more token insights like this?Β Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto NewsletterΒ here.

This shift is notable because it reverses what happened earlier in the month, on December 16. When Aave’s regulatory overhang eased in mid-December, exchange balances dropped sharply as confidence improved. Now, with governance issues dragging on, supply has moved back toward exchanges, reinforcing near-term caution.

On its own, this setup looks bearish. But the exchange supply is only one side of the market.

Whales Buy the Dip as Sell-Off Fears Peak

While exchange balances have increased, large holders have moved in the opposite direction.

Over the past 24 hours, Aave whales increased their holdings by 12.63%, bringing their total stash to 183,987 AAVE. That implies fresh accumulation of roughly 20,600 tokens, worth about $3.1 million at current prices.

At the same time, public figure wallets, which include verified funds and well-tracked entities, raised their holdings by 13.55%, lifting their balance to 274,652 AAVE. That increase represents roughly 32,700 tokens, or about $5 million.

AAVE Whales
AAVE Whales: Nansen

Combined, these two cohorts added more than 53,000 AAVE in a single day. At the current price, that is over $8 million accumulated directly into weakness.

This divergence matters. When exchange supply rises, but whales accumulate, it often reflects short-term fear being absorbed by longer-term conviction. Instead of reacting to governance noise, large holders appear to be positioning around structure, not headlines.

That brings us to the chart.

The Bullish AAVE Price Trigger Whales Are Positioning For?

The price action provides the missing link.

AAVE has repeatedly defended the $147 zone, forming the head of a developing inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. This pattern typically signals a possible trend reversal after prolonged downside pressure, especially when it forms during elevated fear.

The structure remains compressed under a descending neckline line, meaning sellers still control the broader trend. But the trigger is clear. A decisive move above $182 would begin to shift momentum. Clearing $193 would confirm the breakout and open upside toward $207, then $232, with $248 as the larger recovery target.

AAVE Price Analysis
AAVE Price Analysis: TradingView

The risk is equally defined. If AAVE loses $147, the bullish structure breaks. That would likely invite renewed selling pressure, with downside risk toward $127. For now, whales appear to be betting that support holds, and structure resolves higher.

The post Whales Add $3 Million in AAVE as Governance Uncertainty Pressures Price appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Received before yesterday

SEC Drops Long-Running Investigation Into Aave Protocol

17 December 2025 at 02:49

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into the Aave Protocol without recommending enforcement action, according to a notice dated December 16.

The decision ends a multi-year probe into one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platforms and removes a major regulatory overhang for the sector.

Investigation Closed Without Enforcement

In its notice, the SEC said it had concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol and does not intend to recommend enforcement action at this time.

However, the agency emphasized that the closure does not constitute an exoneration and does not prevent future action should circumstances change. The notice follows standard SEC practice under Securities Act Release No. 5310.

After four years, we are finally ready to share that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the Aave Protocol.

This process demanded significant effort and resources from our team, and from me personally as the founder, to protect Aave, its ecosystem, and DeFi more… pic.twitter.com/aZeLrZz5ZQ

β€” Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) December 16, 2025

The investigation began around 2021–2022, during a period when the SEC intensified scrutiny of crypto lending, staking, and governance tokens.

Aave, a non-custodial DeFi protocol, allows users to lend and borrow digital assets through automated smart contracts. The protocol operates without intermediaries and is governed by holders of the AAVE token.

AAVE Briefly Climbs After SEC’s Announcement. Source: CoinGecko

Aave Revenue and Governance Under the Spotlight

The SEC decision comes as Aave faces separate internal scrutiny over revenue and governance.

Earlier this week, DAO members raised concerns that a front-end infrastructure change may have redirected swap fee revenue away from the Aave DAO treasury. The issue followed a shift from ParaSwap to CoW Swap on Aave’s official interface.

Extremely concerning.

The stealth privatization of approximately 10% of Aave DAO's potential revenue, leveraging brand and IPs paid for by the DAO, represents a clear attack on the best interests of the $AAVE Token holders.

We will prepare an official response with @AaveChan. https://t.co/opoG3I7x7s

β€” Marc ”七十 Billy” Zeller (@Marczeller) December 12, 2025

Governance delegates said the change could reduce DAO revenue by up to $10 million annually, depending on trading volumes.Β 

Aave Labs responded that the front-end is a separate product and that prior revenue sharing was voluntary.

For now, Aave emerges from regulatory scrutiny without penalties, which has been a common pattern as the SEC backtracks from crypto enforcement under Paul Atkins.

Still, the protocol faces ongoing questions around governance, decentralization, and value capture as DeFi matures.

The post SEC Drops Long-Running Investigation Into Aave Protocol appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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