Stani Kulechov, founder & CEO of Aave, joins Ash Bennington, Real Vision senior editor, to discuss his first crypto project, how it led to Aave, and the utility of the Aave token. Kulechov explains how his first project in the crypto world was Eth Lend, a collateral backed lending protocol built on top of Ethereum. Eth Lend eventually evolved into Aave after they developed incentives for liquidators and governance of the system. Aave enables users to swap debt positions, which allows users to have more flexibility with their debt and makes for a better user experience. The Aave token's main utility is governance of the protocol, meaning that any changes to the protocol need to be approved by Aave token holders. These changes can include risk parameters and what to do with treasury funds. Filmed on February 25, 2021. Key Learnings: Aave is one of the top 3 DeFi projects by total value locked in the protocol. Eth Lend evolved into what is now called Aave with its token's main utility being governance. Aave has decentralized governance, meaning no one can change the core protocol or decide what to do with its cash flow without owning the Aave token.