For four years, BGD has played an important role in Aave V3’s technical development, and it is fair to say that Aave V3 would not be what it is today without their contributions. That Aave V3 has lasted this long in an ever changing industry is a testament to their dedication and craft. I, like many of you, am grateful for their work. On a personal level, this is the end of a long chapter. I still remember hiring Ernesto back in 2018, right after the ETHLend ICO. We were a small team with a big vision, and that spirit of collaboration is what made Aave what it is. That said, I respect BGD’s decision and I am sad to see them go. The DeFi ecosystem is better for having a team like BGD in it and I hope they continue to build and make contributions to the industry. Thank you, Ernesto and the entire BGD team, for everything you have contributed to Aave. I wish you the absolute best and hope we’ll cross paths again in the future. To the community, I want to be clear that Aave Labs has been here from day one, and we are not going anywhere. We have always built cutting edge financial technology from ETHLend, to Aave V1, V2, V3, and now V4. We've also built innovative mechanisms for several years including Aave's Safety Module, eMode, Flash Loans, GHO, and more. We will be here for the next decade pursuing the same exact mission. All Aave related smart contracts are running as intended and there is no disruption to the protocol and its operations. We have a team of 90 people dedicated to building, securing, and growing Aave and will take up any responsibilities required to guarantee a smooth transition. Aave V3, and every other part of the Aave protocol stack, will continue to operate as normal. We built V3 and will be happy to take on all maintenance work until a time that the DAO votes otherwise. We will do this alongside all the other talented service providers in the Aave ecosystem. It goes without saying, but I am also in favor of keeping BGD within the DAO on their proposed security retainer and will vote accordingly. Aave will win.(Stani.eth)