aave lost chaos labs, ACI, and BGD in six months. aave labs hoovered up 40+ functions and immediately came to the DAO for $42.5m. active devs are down 52%. they just bagged SOC 2 Type II and a UK EMI license. V4 launched with no incentives and still attracted ~$20m organically. this doesn’t behave like a DAO anymore; it looks like a regulated fintech where token holders have “governance” over an entity that already calls the shots. you’re effectively holding pseudo‑equity with no legal claim and paying $42.5m in dilution for the honor. // zero illusion