- Buy Crypto
- Markets
Futures- Spot
- Copy Trade
- Earn
- More
Aave internally questions Labs' past performance: secured $86 million in funding, holds 23% of tokens, all six products failed or incurred losses
The founder of the Aave ecosystem contribution organization ACI, Marc Zeller, released a public report disclosing that Aave Labs has received approximately $86 million in capital support since 2017, including ICO, VC financing, and direct grants from the DAO. Meanwhile, the founding team retained 23% of the LEND tokens during the 2017 ICO (which were later migrated to AAVE at a ratio of 100:1).
The report points out that Labs had a capital base of about $48.7 million before receiving DAO funding, and subsequently received approximately $37.4 million in grants from the DAO. They are currently applying for an additional $51 million through the "Aave Will Win" proposal.
The report critically questions the past performance of Labs' products, stating that six independent products launched apart from the core protocol have either failed or not achieved profitability. Among them, the RWA project Horizon once claimed to have surpassed $1 billion in scale, but the actual RWA collateral scale is about $135 million, highly concentrated in a single asset. Since its launch in 2025, Horizon has generated approximately $216,000 in cumulative revenue for the DAO, while incentives and related costs amount to about $5.25 million, resulting in a return on investment ratio of about 24:1.
The report also notes that early core developers of Aave V1, V2, and V3 left Labs between 2021 and 2022, with V3 being seen as the last major protocol version led by Labs. Subsequent versions have primarily been advanced by DAO service providers. In related governance votes, a single large delegated address played a key role in passing the Horizon proposal, sparking community discussions about the concentration of governance power and the efficiency of fund usage.
This controversy comes at a time when a new proposal for a $17.5 million product growth grant is under review, further intensifying discussions within the Aave community regarding fund allocation, performance disclosure, and governance transparency.
You may also like
US & Canada Crypto Tax Season 2026: Official Tax Reporting Support from WEEX × KoinX
Prepare for US & Canada crypto tax season 2026. Learn how to export your WEEX transaction history and access official reporting support through our partnership with KoinX.
Conversation between Tom Lee and "The Big Short" Author: AI has detected bubble signal, crypto correction due to gold liquidity being "siphoned off"
The true reason for Claude's ban, Kraken accessing the Federal Reserve payment system, What is the English community paying attention to?
「Buying the Dip」 of 400,000 BTC: Is $74,000 a Rebound or a Reversal?
OpenClaw, Another Batch of Middle Class Jobless
Morning News | Backpack will launch on-chain IPO subscription service; Predict.fun strategically acquires on-chain prediction platform Probable; SoFi partners with Mastercard for strategic cooperation
Inventorying the Washington power in the crypto space, who is speaking out for U.S. crypto legislation?
650 million dollars, 1.5 billion dollars, 2 billion dollars, the crypto VC landscape has changed!
Why prediction markets are the largest untapped collateral pool in DeFi
500% XAUT Staking, Zero-Fee Gold Futures and $100K Rewards: Why Traders Are Turning to WEEX for Tokenized Gold
Explore WEEX's $100,000+ gold campaign featuring 500% XAUT staking, zero-fee gold contracts, and $30,000 PAXG rewards. Trade tokenized gold today.
AI within artillery range
“The cloud” is a metaphor, but the data center isn’t.
March 4th Market Key Intelligence, How Much Did You Miss?
Taking Stock of Crypto's Washington Power Players: Who is Advocating for US Crypto Regulation?
DDC Enterprise Limited Announces 2025 Unaudited Preliminary Financial Performance: Record Revenue Achieved, Bitcoin Treasury Grows to 2183 Coins
On March 4, 2026, DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE American: DDC) today announced preliminary, unaudited full-year financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2025. The company expects to achieve record revenue and record positive adjusted EBITDA, primarily driven by continued growth in its core consumer food business and overall margin improvement. The final audited financial report is expected to be released in mid-April 2026.
Revenue: Expected to be between $39 million and $41 million, reaching a new company high.
Organic Growth: Excluding the impact of the company's strategic contraction of its U.S. operations, core revenue is expected to grow 11% to 17% year over year.
Gross Profit Margin: Expected to be between 28% and 30%, reflecting continued operational efficiency improvements.
Adjusted EBITDA: The company expects to achieve a positive full-year result in 2025, a significant improvement from a $3.5 million loss in 2024, mainly due to rigorous cost controls and a higher-margin sales mix.
In 2025, DDC's core consumer food business maintained strong operational performance.
The company also disclosed Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA, a metric that further excludes costs related to its Bitcoin reserve strategy and non-cash fair value adjustments related to its Bitcoin holdings from adjusted EBITDA to more accurately reflect the core business performance.
In 2025, Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $5.5 million and $6 million.
In the first half of 2025, DDC initiated a long-term Bitcoin accumulation strategy, holding Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset.
As of December 31, 2025: The company holds 1,183 BTC.
As of February 28, 2026: Holdings increased to 2,118 BTC
Today's additional purchase of 65 BTC brings the company's total holdings to 2,183 BTC
DDC Founder, Chairman, and CEO Norma Chu stated, "We are proud to have closed 2025 with record revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA, demonstrating the steady growth of the company's consumer food business and the ongoing improvement in profitability. We are building a disciplined, growth-oriented food platform and strategically allocating capital to Bitcoin assets with a long-term view, aligning with our core beliefs. We believe that this dual-track model of 'Steady Consumer Business + Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' will help DDC create lasting long-term value for shareholders."
For the full year 2025, the company defines "Adjusted EBITDA" (a non-GAAP financial measure) as: Net income / (loss) excluding the following items:· Interest expense· Taxes· Foreign exchange gains/losses· Long-lived asset impairment· Depreciation and amortization· Non-cash fair value changes related to financial instruments (including Bitcoin holdings)· Stock-based compensation
DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: DDC) is actively implementing its corporate Bitcoin Treasury strategy while continuing to strengthen its position as a leading global Asian food platform.
The company has established Bitcoin as a core reserve asset and is executing a prudent, long-oriented accumulation strategy. While expanding its portfolio of food brands, DDC is gradually becoming one of the public company pioneers in integrating Bitcoin into its corporate financial architecture.
Uncovering YZi Labs 229 Investment: Over 18% of the portfolio is already inactive, with an average project transparency score of 78
The business of crypto VC is becoming promising
China's AI Compute Power Counterstrike
Global Assets Plunge: Hormuz, Chips, and a South Korean Holiday
US & Canada Crypto Tax Season 2026: Official Tax Reporting Support from WEEX × KoinX
Prepare for US & Canada crypto tax season 2026. Learn how to export your WEEX transaction history and access official reporting support through our partnership with KoinX.
App