Aave Founder Responds to DAO Controversy: Will Enhance Aave Labs' Alignment with AAVE Holders’ Interests Mechanism
December 26th — Aave founder Stani Kulechov said the recent DAO vote controversy reflects normal tensions in decentralized governance, and acknowledged a lack of prior communication to align Aave Labs with AAVE holders’ interests.
Stani noted Aave DAO’s annual revenue has hit $140 million, exceeding the total from the past three years, with its treasury funds fully controlled by AAVE holders.
Regarding the $15 million AAVE purchase he made, Stani emphasized those tokens did not participate in the recent vote, and the purchase was motivated by confidence in the project’s long-term growth.
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Mainstream Perp DEX Overview: Recent Weak Liquidity, Lighter Trading Volume Leads
December 26 – Per data from DefiLlama, mainstream perpetual futures DEXes (Perp DEXes) posted sluggish 24-hour trading volumes on Wednesday, with on-chain liquidity still failing to recover.
Lighter led the pack in trading volume, while EdgeX overtook Hyperliquid to claim the second spot. Below is the latest 24-hour data for select Perp DEXes:
- Lighter: ~$47.5B trading volume, ~$13.9B TVL, $15.1B open interest
- EdgeX: ~$27.7B trading volume, ~$3.65B TVL, $7.42B open interest
- Hyperliquid: ~$24.5B trading volume, ~$41.3B TVL, $70.9B open interest
- Aster: ~$20.6B trading volume, ~$12.7B TVL, $24.2B open interest
- ApeX: ~$15.9B trading volume, ~$46.35M TVL, $2.59B open interest
- Variational: ~$10.9B trading volume, ~$66.18M TVL, $4.85B open interest
- Backpack: ~$8.13B trading volume, TVL undisclosed, $2.16B open interest
- Pacifica: ~$6.5B trading volume, ~$41.36M TVL, $61.9M open interest
(Note: TVL = Total Value Locked; open interest = outstanding derivativ
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China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission: Encouraging the Use of Technologies such as Blockchain to Develop Supply Chain Finance and Promote the High-Quality Development of Digital Finance
On December 26, the General Office of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) released an Implementation Plan for High-Quality Digital Finance Development in the Banking and Insurance Sector.
The plan aims to boost the quality and efficiency of financial services by leveraging digital technologies and data elements. For the advanced manufacturing industry, it mandates:
- Strengthening credit support for the sector’s digital transformation;
- Standardizing supply chain finance practices via big data, blockchain, and related technologies;
- Proactively addressing financing needs of upstream and downstream firms across industrial chains.
Additionally, the plan calls on financial institutions to explore innovative uses of cutting-edge technologies—including blockchain, quantum computing, Beidou satellite navigation, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR)—in financial services.
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Bullish Sentiment Faces Community Backlash, Tom Lee Claps Back
On December 26, Tom Lee retweeted an article outlining optimistic expectations for the 2026 crypto market—only to face ridicule and criticism from some community members.
One member commented, “Your words do nothing for the little reputation you’ve got left.” Lee hit back with a quip: “To gain respect from your investment portfolio *and* your kindergarten classmates, subscribe to FS Insight’s premium service.”
Another member fired off: “You first pegged Ethereum’s target at $12k, then $7k—your evidence is totally unreliable. ETH might not even top $3k. You need to reflect on yourself.” Lee seemed unbothered, shooting back that the user was a “clown.”
This isn’t Lee’s first run-in with backlash over bullish takes. Back in September, Andrew Kang—founder of crypto VC firm Mechanism Capital—bluntly called Lee’s ETH theory “foolish.” What’s more, a fund analyst at Lee’s firm recently issued a sharply bearish 2024 prediction that directly contradicted his own views, fueling fresh wi
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The central bank has released the new version of the "Renminbi Cross-Border Payment System Business Rules," specifying the inclusion of the Digital Currency Research Institute in the scope of notification
On December 26, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) released the *Business Rules for RMB Cross-Border Payment Systems* (YinFa [2025] No. 248), which will take effect February 1, 2026, replacing the 2018 version of the rules. The notice names the Digital Currency Research Institute as one of the notified entities, alongside institutions including the China Development Bank (CDB), commercial banks, and the clearing house.
The new rules clarify the operational framework and transaction processing workflows of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). They stipulate that CIPS will support a hybrid settlement model covering real-time gross settlement (RTGS) and deferred net settlement (DNS), and handle cross-border RMB settlement services such as:
- RMB payments;
- Payment-versus-payment (PvP) for RMB cross-border foreign currency transactions;
- Delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement;
- Central counterparty (CCP) centralized clearing.
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