Aave Grants DAO: what happened, and where to apply now
Updated 6 min readBy the web3grant editors
Aave Grants DAO is closed. It paused all new grants and disbanded its team on August 19, 2024, and on July 15, 2026 TokenLogic, an Aave DAO service provider, confirmed on the Aave forum that it has been sunset and no longer accepts or reviews applications. As of October 2026 no open successor program for outside builders has been announced.
Key takeaways
- Aave Grants DAO (AGD) paused all new grants and disbanded its team on August 19, 2024, and its sunset was confirmed on the Aave forum on July 15, 2026.
- From May 2021 to September 2023, AGD awarded about $4.85M across 249 grants, an average of about $19,500 per grant.
- The aavegrants.org site still shows old copy about rolling applications, but nothing submitted there is reviewed.
- The 2026 "Aave Will Win" grants fund Aave Labs only and are not open to outside builders.
- DeFi builders can apply instead to open programs such as Lido Ecosystem Grants (paid in stablecoins), CoW DAO Grants and the 1inch DAO's Aqua incubator.
What happened to Aave Grants DAO?
Aave Grants DAO wound down in stages over two years. The Aave DAO approved it in May 2021 as a community-led grants program, and it stopped taking applications in August 2024. Here is the timeline from the Aave governance forum:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 2021 | Aave DAO approves Aave Grants DAO |
| January 2023 | Last approved budget: $1.625M per quarter for six months |
| November 2023 | Continuation proposal confirms milestone payments |
| August 19, 2024 | AGD pauses all new grants and disbands its team |
| February 2025 | ACI proposes returning the AGD treasury to the Aave DAO |
| January 2026 | A forum idea floats "Testnet Aave Grants" and "Aave Retro Grants"; nothing is proposed or funded |
| July 15, 2026 | TokenLogic confirms AGD has been sunset |
The final confirmation came in a forum thread asking whether the program was still active. We did not check the final vote result of ACI's 2025 proposal to move the treasury, so we cannot say where the remaining funds ended up.
The aavegrants.org site is still online and still describes rolling applications. That copy is out of date. We removed AGD from web3grant's directory on October 1, 2026 because there is no way to apply.
What Aave Grants DAO funded
AGD funded projects that grew the Aave protocol and, later, the GHO stablecoin. A lead and a group of reviewers approved grants on a rolling basis, and decisions came back fast: on average within 9.6 days. Most grants paid part up front and the rest after milestones, in stablecoins, GHO or AAVE.
Most of the money went to applications and integrations built on Aave, followed by DAO committees, community and education work, protocol development and developer tooling. Past grantees include Chaos Labs and TokenLogic. The 2021 founding proposal let reviewers approve rapid grants under $100,000 and community grants of $100,000 to $500,000, with larger requests going to an on-chain DAO vote. Actual grants were much smaller: $4.85M over 249 grants works out to about $19,500 each.
Is there a new Aave grants program?
No, not one you can apply to. The Aave DAO's 2026 "Aave Will Win" grants fund Aave Labs only. A January 2026 forum post floated two ideas for v4 spoke builders, "Testnet Aave Grants" and "Aave Retro Grants", but neither was proposed or funded as of October 1, 2026.
If you see a page or a message offering Aave grants, check it against the Aave governance forum before you share anything. Our guide to crypto grant scams covers the warning signs.
Where DeFi builders can apply instead
Several DeFi protocols still run open grant programs. The table shows the main ones in web3grant's directory as of October 31, 2026; two of them carry notices you should read first.
| Program | What it funds | Size | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lido Ecosystem Grants (LEGO) | Staking integrations, security, protocol work, education | Under $1K to over $100K | Open, 250,000 DAI a quarter |
| CoW DAO Grants | SDKs, integrations, solver tooling, research | Not published | Open, mandate runs to Jan 31, 2027 |
| Aqua Revenue Stream Incubator | New Aqua trading strategies | Up to $50K in USDC | Open, revenue share |
| dYdX Grants Program | Infrastructure, tooling, research for dYdX Chain | Not published | Open |
| Compound Grants Program | Dev tools, security, multichain features | Up to $100K in COMP | Dapps domain paused |
| Uniswap Foundation Open Grants | Ecosystem tools, research, v4 hooks | Not published | Spending down its budget |
Read the notices before you apply
Compound's main Dapps and Ideas domain has been paused since April 14, 2026, and its other domains are open but fund only exceptional teams while the program's future is under review. The Uniswap Foundation is spending down its remaining grants budget and plans to close once it is committed. Both still take applications, but plan for a lower chance of funding.
If you built on Aave or GHO
Lending teams have fewer obvious homes now. Cardano PRIME lists curated lending, CDPs and yield-bearing stablecoins among the DeFi building blocks it funds on Cardano. Ink Spark funds integrations with Tydro, the lending market on Kraken's Ink L2, and Horizen's builder fund has an open request for a private borrow-lend protocol. Lido's LEGO program funds integrations that bring new staking demand to the Lido protocol.
For audit costs rather than build costs, the Ethereum Audit Subsidy Program covers up to 30% of an audit from a $1M pool for teams launching on Ethereum mainnet.
Browse every program in the category on DeFi grants, and see our guide to DeFi protocol funding for how grants compare with other ways to fund a protocol.
How DAO grant programs differ from AGD
AGD was fast: its 9.6-day average decision compares with a median of 4 weeks across the 99 programs in web3grant's directory, most of them estimates. The open DAO programs above also work in public. Lido asks you to post proposals on research.lido.fi, and CoW DAO asks you to post on its forum using a grant template.
That means your proposal will be read by delegates and competitors as well as reviewers. Our guides on how to write a Web3 grant proposal and writing a DAO funding proposal cover how to write for a public audience. For the wider pattern of DAO grant programs that ended or paused, see Web3 grant programs closed or paused in 2026.
FAQ
Is Aave Grants DAO still accepting applications?
No. Aave Grants DAO paused all new grants and disbanded its team on August 19, 2024, and TokenLogic confirmed on the Aave governance forum on July 15, 2026 that the program has been sunset and no longer accepts or reviews applications. The aavegrants.org site still mentions rolling applications, but that copy is out of date.
Does Aave have a new grants program in 2026?
Aave has no grants program open to outside builders as of October 2026. The 2026 "Aave Will Win" grants approved by the Aave DAO fund Aave Labs only. A January 2026 forum idea floated "Testnet Aave Grants" and "Aave Retro Grants" for v4 spoke builders, but neither was proposed or funded by October 1, 2026.
How much did Aave Grants DAO give out?
Aave Grants DAO awarded about $4.85M across 249 grants between May 2021 and September 2023, an average of about $19,500 per grant. Its last approved budget, in January 2023, was $1.625M per quarter for six months. Most of the money went to applications and integrations built on Aave, followed by DAO committees and community and education work.
What happened to the Aave Grants DAO treasury?
In February 2025, ACI proposed returning the Aave Grants DAO treasury to the Aave DAO. The treasury held GHO, USDC, USDT, DAI, AAVE and OP. web3grant did not verify the final vote result of that proposal, so check the Aave governance forum for where the funds ended up.
Which DeFi grant programs are open instead of Aave Grants DAO?
As of October 31, 2026, open DeFi grant programs in web3grant's directory include Lido Ecosystem Grants, CoW DAO Grants, the 1inch DAO's Aqua Revenue Stream Incubator and the dYdX Grants Program. The Compound Grants Program and Uniswap Foundation Open Grants also take applications, but Compound's main dapps domain is paused and the Uniswap Foundation is spending down its budget.
Programs in this guide
Where each one stands today, soonest deadline first.
- Aqua Revenue Stream Incubator1inch DAOUp to $50KAnytime
- Cardano PRIMEAlphaGrowthUndisclosedAnytime
- Compound Grants ProgramCompound DAONew Dapps and Ideas proposals have been paused since Apr 14, 2026. The other domains are still open but fund only exceptional teams, and the program's future is under review.Up to $100KAnytime
- CoW DAO GrantsCoW DAOUndisclosedAnytime
- dYdX Grants ProgramdYdX FoundationUndisclosedAnytime
- Ethereum Audit Subsidy ProgramEthereum FoundationUndisclosedAnytime
- Lido Ecosystem Grants (LEGO)Lido DAOUp to $100KAnytime
- Uniswap Foundation Open GrantsUniswap FoundationThe Foundation is spending down its remaining grants budget and plans to close once it is committed. Check the site before you apply.UndisclosedAnytime
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- How to write a DAO funding proposal that passes a voteHow to write a DAO funding proposal that passes: forum draft, feedback, vote and reporting, with real deposits, quorums and vote lengths from 9 DAOs.