Aave Governance Proposal Pauses Deployment on Three L2 Networks, Requiring New Chains to Ensure $2 Million Annual Revenue

The Aave Chan Initiative has proposed suspending deployments on zkSync, Metis, and Soneium Layer 2 networks due to minimal user activity, TVL, and revenue. The proposal requires future new chain deployments to guarantee at least $2 million in annual revenue and has initiated a snapshot vote.

ChainCatcher reports that the Aave Governance Delegation Platform, Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), submitted a governance proposal on January 29th recommending a pause on deployments on zkSync Era, Metis, and Soneium Layer 2 networks, citing their low contribution to user activity, TVL, and revenue. ACI stated in the proposal, “Over time, it’s clear that only a small number of instances contribute very little user activity, TVL, and revenue, yet they still require significant effort from service providers and governance participants.”

Currently, zkSync’s TVL is approximately $26 million, Soneium around $17 million, and Metis about $9 million. According to DefiLlama data, in the past 30 days, Aave generated only $714 in revenue on zkSync, $679 on Metis, and just $150 on Soneium. In comparison, during the same period, the Ethereum mainnet produced over $7.7 million in revenue, and nearly $300,000 on Base.

ACI also proposed that any future new chain deployments must ensure at least $2 million in annual revenue for Aave, arguing that protocol liquidity is often underestimated relative to initial and recurring costs. The snapshot vote was initiated on the same day.