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Who owns DeFi? Lessons from Aave’s public ownership battle.
Welcome to the State of Crypto Weekly, an investor-focused newsletter from 21shares on what’s driving the digital asset landscape.
This week, we’re exploring:
- The latest developments in Aave’s governance crisis.
- Fixing crypto fundraising with Matt O’Connor – tune into our latest Off the Block episode.
UPDATE ON AAVE’S GOVERNANCE CRISIS
Alignment is on the table, enforceability is not (yet)
Who really owns the world’s biggest DeFi lending protocol? The very public Aave power struggle just escalated with Aave Labs publishing its “Aave Will Win Framework” earlier this month. Darius Moukhtarzadeh argues the proposal doesn’t solve the ownership question – rather it highlights the nuances in definitions, controls, and governance safeguards.
While most of the Aave ecosystem agree that value should accrue to the DAO, how can the DAO verify, audit, and ultimately control the definition of the number it is being promised? It’s about the difference between token-holder ownership as a principle and token-holder ownership as an enforceable economic right.
FIXING CRYPTO FUNDRAISING
With Matt O’Connor from Legion
Crypto fundraising and tokenomics are evolving, and Legion co-founder Matt O’Connor offers his insights into the changing landscape. We hear about his transition from researcher to builder, plus how Legion is addressing flaws in modern token launches through merit-based, onchain fundraising. Discussion also covers the future of tokenization, from the return of compliant public offerings to the need for sustainable, demand-driven token design.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Read more about Jasmin’s journey into crypto
In you missed it
21shares in the world
Adrian on the Crypto Prime Podcast
“After a brutal crypto selloff, Adrian Fritz, Chief Investment Strategist at 21shares, breaks down what went wrong – and the catalysts that could reignite momentum.”
Adrian took to LinkedIn to ask if Bitcoin is strictly a monetary network or a neutral infrastructure that should process any valid, fee-paying transaction?
Darius in Bilan
An opinion piece by Darius Moukhtarzadeh, our research strategist, was featured in Swiss publication Bilan (French only).
Hot topics in crypto 2026
Darius also appeared in Medium, penning an article on the major themes and developments in AI, Robotics, Tokens, DeFi, and more.
Swiss news outlet Finews asked Sina Meier – our Head of Switzerland, FraBeLux and Middle East – about her approach to life beyond crypto (German only).
Our Global Head of Research, Eliezer Ndinga, penned an opinion piece for LinkedIn titled “Bitcoin: The prohibited network in the East”.
Stephen, Travolta, and the dollar
What do John Travolta and the US dollar debasement narrative have in common? Our Head of Macro Stephen Coltman managed to find a connection.
Connect with us today
If you have any questions or want to discuss a product in detail, please visit our website at www.21shares.com
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.