Aave Whale’s $37.6M Selloff Triggers 10% Price Drop Amid Governance Dispute

ccn.comPublished on 2025-12-22Last updated on 2025-12-22

Abstract

An Aave whale sold 230,350 AAVE tokens (worth approximately $37.6 million) over a three-hour period on December 21, causing the token's price to drop by roughly 10%. The selloff occurred amidst an ongoing governance dispute within the Aave community. The controversy centers on a proposal to transfer Aave's brand assets to its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Aave Labs, the company's founding team, has been accused of attempting to rush the proposal to a Snapshot vote without allowing sufficient time for community discussion, a move that the proposal's original author, Ernesto Boado, called "disgraceful." The uncertainty from this governance drama is speculated to have contributed to the whale's decision to dump its holdings, highlighting concerns over centralization and market volatility for a top-40 cryptocurrency.

Key Takeaways
  • AAVE dropped 10% after a whale dumped 230,350 tokens.
  • The selloff comes amid an ongoing governance dispute.
  • Aave Labs is accused of attempting to force through a vote without allowing time for discussion.

Aave’s price dropped roughly 10% late on Sunday, Dec. 21, after a whale address sold 230,350 AAVE for around $37.6 million.

The timing of the selloff comes amid an ongoing governance drama sparked by Aave Labs’ attempt to rush through a proposal to transfer brand assets to Aave’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

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AAVE Crashes Following Whale Dump

In the space of around three hours, the whale sold their entire AAVE holdings, swapping the tokens for stETH and WBTC.

Between 9:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. (UTC), AAVE crashed nearly 10% from $176.5 to $159. By Monday morning, the token had settled at around $161.

The fact that a single actor was able to move the market so much suggests the kind of thin liquidity more commonly associated with memecoins.

Yet, with a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, Aave is one of the top forty cryptocurrencies.

Volatility may stem from the timing of the selloff, which coincided with heightened uncertainty around the project’s governance.

Governance Vote Sparks Uncertainty

At the center of the controversy is a proposal authored by Ernesto Boado, a long-standing contributor to the Aave ecosystem who previously served as Aave Labs’ CTO.

On Dec. 16, Boado introduced a governance proposal seeking to transfer control of Aave’s brand assets—including domains, social media handles, and naming rights—from service providers to a DAO-controlled entity.

However, when Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced that the proposal had been submitted to a Snapshot vote, he was accused of rushing it through without giving the community sufficient time to consider.

In a post on X , Boado distanced himself from the decision, which he says was made without his consent.

“It was not my intention to submit the vote while the community was still having a healthy discussion around it […] Trying to rush a vote is disgraceful,” he said.

With Boada and others calling for the community to abstain from the vote, uncertainty surrounding whether the proposal will pass, fail, or be rewritten has added to market anxiety.

Some observers have even speculated that it played a role in the whale’s decision to exit such a large position at once.

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Related Questions

QWhat caused the 10% drop in AAVE's price on December 21st?

AThe 10% drop in AAVE's price was triggered by a whale selling 230,350 AAVE tokens for approximately $37.6 million.

QWhat governance dispute is currently happening in the Aave ecosystem?

AThe governance dispute involves a proposal to transfer Aave's brand assets to its DAO, which was rushed to a Snapshot vote by Aave Labs without allowing sufficient time for community discussion, causing controversy.

QWho authored the controversial governance proposal and what was their background?

AThe proposal was authored by Ernesto Boado, a long-standing contributor to the Aave ecosystem who previously served as Aave Labs' CTO.

QHow did the community react to the rushed governance vote?

AThe community reacted negatively, with Ernesto Boado himself calling the move 'disgraceful' and urging the community to abstain from voting due to the lack of proper discussion.

QWhat does the large selloff suggest about AAVE's market liquidity?

AThe fact that a single whale was able to move the market by 10% suggests that AAVE has relatively thin liquidity for a token with a $2.46 billion market capitalization.

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