Blockchain
risk
management
firm
Gauntlet
has
broken
off
its
four-year-long
relationship
with
the
decentralized
lending
platform
Aave,
citing
difficulty
working
with
the
decentralized
autonomous
organization
(DAO)
that
governs
the
protocol.
In
a
post
in
the
Aave
forums,
Gauntlet
co-founder
John
Morrow
said
it
was
terminating
its
relationship
with
the
lender
because
his
team
“found
it
difficult
to
navigate
the
inconsistent
guidelines
and
unwritten
objectives”
of
Aave’s
“largest
stakeholders.”
Gauntlet
is
a
key
player
in
decentralized
finance
(DeFi),
its
risk
management
services
used
by
several
of
the
largest
crypto
protocols
and
DAOs.
Gauntlet
served
as
a
“Risk
Steward”
for
Aave,
which
involved
overseeing
the
platform’s
risk
levels,
providing
regular
updates
to
the
Aave
community,
and
manually
setting
certain
lending
and
borrowing
parameters.
Morrow
said
in
his
post
that
Gauntlet
would
begin
“working
with
other
contributors
to
find
a
replacement”
Risk
Steward
so
as
not
to
leave
the
DAO
high-and-dry.
Aave,
which
initially
launched
on
Ethereum
in
2017
and
has
since
expanded
to
other
ecosystems,
is
one
of
the
largest
decentralized
lending
platforms.
The
protocol
has
$11
billion
locked
in
its
system,
which
investors
use
to
borrow
and
lend
cryptocurrencies
without
middlemen.
Holders
of
the
AAVE
token
are
collectively
referred
to
as
the
“Aave
DAO”
and
are
tasked
with
voting
on
key
decisions
governing
the
platform,
such
as
setting
interest
rates
and
managing
risk.
The
DAO
offloads
some
of
these
responsibilities
to
professional
partners
like
Gauntlet,
which
handle
certain
day-to-day
operations
on
behalf
of
the
DAO,
actively
engage
with
the
DAO
community
and
formulate
governance
proposals
for
key
parameter
changes.
Partners
like
Gauntlet
are
paid
by
the
DAO’s
treasury,
and
contracts
are
proposed
and
approved
via
formal
Aave
DAO
governance
votes.
Gauntlet’s
decision
to
terminate
its
relationship
with
Aave
was
met
with
swift
backlash
from
some
members
of
the
Aave
community.
“[P]ersonally
I’m
disappointed
about
the
trust
that
the
Aave
DAO
put
on
Gauntlet
being
broken
in
the
middle
of
the
engagement,”
Ernesto
Boado,
Aave’s
former
CTO,
said
in
a
forum
post
responding
to
Gauntlet’s
exit
announcement.
“I
obviously
respect
the
decision
if
other
business
considerations
exist,
but
simply
can’t
agree
that
Aave
mistreated
Gauntlet.”
Marc
Zeller,
a
major
figure
in
Aave’s
governance
community
who
previously
fought
against
renewing
Gauntlet’s
service
agreement
with
the
protocol,
suggested
Gauntlet
was
“looking
into
external
business
opportunities”
and
called
its
stated
rationale
for
leaving
the
protocol
a
“poor
excuse.”
Zeller’s
characterization
of
Gauntlet’s
motives
was
disputed
in
a
reply
from
Nick
Cannon,
Gauntlet’s
vice
president
of
growth.
“What
everyone
is
missing
in
the
resignation
post,
is
the
community
wants
exclusivity
from
Gauntlet
without
paying
for
it,”
Cannon
added
in
a
direct
message
to
CoinDesk
on
X.
“Chaos,
our
risk
counterpart,
doesn’t
have
the
same
restrictions.”
Gauntlet’s
decision
to
separate
from
Aave
was
made
to
“optimize
growth
and
continue
our
mission,”
said
Cannon.
UPDATE
(Feb.
22,
2:25
UTC):
Adds
statement
from
Nick
Cannon,
Gauntlet’s
vice
president
of
growth.