Aave DAO considers narrowing its “multichain strategy,” removing zkSync, Metis, and Soneium

The Aave community is considering shutting down some underperforming Aave branch instances operating on low-value blockchain networks, according to an ongoing discussion on the project’s governance channel.

“Each V3 instance of Aave incurs operational costs and expands the risk surface. Many current instances are believed not to generate enough revenue to offset their costs and the risks they bring,” an Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) representative posted in a “Temp Check” at the end of November.

While this is not yet an official governance process, the debate could signal a strategic shift for the largest decentralized lending protocol, which has so far maintained a philosophy of maximum expansion by deploying on new blockchains.

Launched in 2018, Aave is now the largest decentralized lending protocol, accounting for over 81% of total outstanding debt on Ethereum.

The project currently operates on at least 18 chains, including multiple Ethereum Layer 2s and alternative Layer 1s such as Aptos, Soneium, and others. Now, ACI, a key delegate platform for Aave DAO, seems to want to scale back part of this expansion and set stricter requirements for future deployments.

Low Revenue

According to the forum discussion, ACI’s Growth SP proposed shutting down instances on zkSync, Metis, and Soneium, networks that “have not achieved product-market fit.” These three chains have the lowest total value locked among Aave’s deployments and contribute very little to the protocol’s revenues.

For example, Metis, co-founded by Natalia Ameline—mother of Vitalik Buterin—generates just over $3,000 in annual revenue. Soneium does slightly better, with over $50,000 per year. Meanwhile, the largest deployment on Ethereum brings in over $142 million, and Base has recorded $4.7 million in revenue with a TVL of just $1.8 million.

“In addition to low revenue, some of these chains require additional technical effort for any new assets, which, given the current workload of service providers and low returns, is not feasible,” ACI stated.

In its proposal, ACI also suggested setting a minimum revenue threshold of $2 million per year for new deployments and applying a “Reserve Factor” to smaller chains to increase revenue from stablecoins.

ACI identified networks such as Polygon, Gnosis, BNB Chain, Optimism, Scroll, Soneium, and Celo as potential candidates for these additional reserve requirements, aiming to lock stablecoins like GHO or Wrapped ETH and optimize revenue.

Currently, the Aave DAO Snapshot records 100% support in a poll set to close on December 5. Temp Checks are typically considered the first step before a formal governance vote, helping gauge community sentiment and kick off discussion.

Community Debate

TokenLogic, Aave’s governance advisor, supports narrowing the multi-chain strategy, including removing three “structurally unviable” deployments on zkSync, Metis, and Soneium. However, TokenLogic takes a more cautious view toward other less effective chains such as BNB Chain, Polygon, and Optimism, which hold “important strategic positions.”

Marc Zeller, co-founder of ACI, argues there could still be exceptions for low-revenue chains if there are certain trade-offs. “Celo has a large user base and is low maintenance; I’m not in favor of removing this instance,” Zeller argued.

Other AAVE token holders also called for caution in removing instances. Nano noted that ACI’s proposal could result in only large deployments like Ethereum, Base, Avalanche, and Arbitrum remaining viable, significantly reducing Aave’s presence in the ecosystem.

This goes against the current trend of multi-chain expansion, as most projects are striving to be present on as many chains as possible to drive growth.

Notably, Aave is often encouraged to deploy on new chains. For example, ZKSync airdropped the largest amount of ZK tokens to the protocol, even though Aave had not yet launched on the network. The DAO has also rejected some deployments—such as the decision not to launch on Ethereum’s Layer 2 Mode.

If the Temp Check passes the Snapshot poll, ACI will publish an Aave Request for Comments and then move to a formal vote.

Thach Sanh