BGD Labs, a core technical contributor to the Aave decentralized lending protocol, has announced it will end its engagement with the Aave DAO on April 1, 2026. The firm, which has been instrumental in developing and maintaining Aave's infrastructure for nearly four years, cited a significant shift in the project's organizational dynamics and governance as the primary reason for its departure.
The firm emphasized that its exit is not due to technical shortcomings, stating that Aave v3 is in a "solid and future‑proof state" and that governance infrastructure functions reliably. Instead, BGD Labs pointed to the growing influence of Aave Labs, the entity leading the development of Aave v4. According to BGD Labs, Aave Labs' control over branding, communication channels, and significant voting influence has created an "asymmetric organizational scenario" that sidelines independent contributors and introduces centralization risks, making meaningful decentralized collaboration difficult.
Specific friction arose during the Aave v4 development process. BGD Labs stated that contributors were asked to advise on v4 without proper incentives or meaningful involvement in its design, describing the approach as "adversarial" toward the ongoing improvement of Aave v3. This conflict with the firm's belief in a decentralized ecosystem ultimately made continued participation untenable.
To ensure a smooth transition, BGD Labs will fulfill all its current responsibilities related to Aave v3, the Umbrella security service, chain expansions, and asset onboarding until its contract expires. The firm also plans to publish comprehensive documentation and maintenance guidelines for its successors. Furthermore, BGD Labs has proposed an optional $200,000 security retainer for the period from April through June 2026, which would keep it on call for incident response related to Aave v3 and governance infrastructure, pending approval from the DAO.
