BGD Labs Announces Offboarding Plan From Aave Protocol

BGD Labs Proposes Security Retainer as It Exits Aave

There has been no shortage of tension within the Aave camp, the largest decentralized finance ( DeFi) protocol by total value locked (TVL), with $26.86 billion currently under its umbrella. BGD Labs, a long-standing technical service provider to the Aave DAO, announced it will not renew its engagement when its current term ends on April 1, 2026.

The firm said it plans a structured offboarding process and will publish supporting documentation in the coming weeks. The team has contributed to core systems, including Aave v3, governance infrastructure, chain expansions, and the Umbrella coverage mechanism. According to the announcement, the liquidity protocol is in a mature state, and governance tooling is operational without requiring structural changes.

BGD attributed its departure to what it described as a shift in the DAO’s organizational dynamics, particularly following Aave Labs’ pivot toward becoming a more central contributor focused on v4 development. The firm said it believes the current direction has reduced alignment with its operating approach.

The announcement also cited disagreements over the framing of Aave v4 in relation to v3, including concerns about proposals to pause new feature development on v3 and outline a deprecation path before v4 is live. BGD stated it considers v3 mature and production-ready, with ongoing improvement potential.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov responded on X, saying BGD’s four years of technical contributions were instrumental in shaping Aave V3. He added that the team would be “happy to take on all maintenance work until the time that the DAO votes otherwise.”

Kulechov added:

“It goes without saying, but I am also in favor of keeping BGD within the DAO on their proposed security retainer and will vote accordingly.”

Until April 1, BGD said its existing scope will continue without disruption, including upgrades, security work, and new chain integrations. For projects extending beyond that date, the firm plans to leave documentation enabling other contributors to assume maintenance responsibilities.

To support protocol stability, BGD proposed a two-month security retainer from April 1 to June 1, 2026, covering incident response for Aave v3, governance and Umbrella, at a total cost of $200,000. The retainer would require approval through a standalone governance proposal. Aave, the project’s native token, is down 3.3% on Sunday, Feb. 22, and has lost 7% over the last seven days.

FAQ 🔎

• Why is BGD Labs leaving Aave?
  BGD said organizational changes and strategic disagreements over v3 and v4 direction led to the decision.
• When does the departure take effect?
  The engagement concludes April 1, 2026.
• Will Aave v3 continue operating?
  BGD stated v3 is mature and can continue functioning without core changes.
• What is the proposed security retainer?
  A two-month, $200,000 retainer covering incident response from April 1 to June 1, 2026.