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Kraken parent Payward and its clients buy an undisclosed stake in AAVE tokens
Summary
A Payward-affiliated fund, Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, and its asset management clients bought an undisclosed amount of AAVE tokens on the secondary market, Payward announced Thursday, according to CoinDesk and The Block.
Neither the size nor price was disclosed, and Payward said it may buy more; CoinDesk said Payward and Aave are also exploring further collaboration.
CoinDesk said the deal evolved from talks it reported in June involving 250,000 AAVE and a 15% equity stake in Aave Group at a $385 million valuation, and Thursday's announcement makes no mention of equity; The Block noted Aave founder Stani Kulechov had pushed back on that June report.
CoinDesk framed the purchase as part of Payward's push to build an asset management business spanning digital assets, structured yield and tokenized investments.
Key facts
- Payward's Gurpreet Oberoi: "This investment reflects our long-term conviction in onchain credit markets and DeFi, as well as growing demand from our clients for exposure to the infrastructure shaping the future of finance."
- Kulechov: "Working with Payward is a strategic step toward bringing Aave to the next wave of retail and institutional users."
- CoinDesk said Aave has about $33 billion in net deposits and $11 billion in active loans, according to the statement.
- The Block said the reported June valuation was roughly a 70% discount to Aave's value at the time, and that Kulechov acknowledged investors had discussed buying parts of Aave Labs' AAVE allocation through partnership deals.