Kraken owner Payward buys AAVE tokens, eyes further purchases

Payward has bought AAVE tokens through an affiliated investment fund and clients of its asset management business as Kraken's parent company extends its push into decentralized finance and investment products, CoinDesk reported Thursday. The companies did not reveal how many tokens were purchased.

Payward said the acquisitions took place on the secondary market and that further buying remains possible as discussions around collaboration continue.

Previous Investment Plans

The purchases follow previous reports that Kraken was considering a 15% investment in Aave Group at a proposed $385 million valuation. Under that proposal, the exchange would contribute 35,000 ETH worth around $31 million in return for 250,000 AAVE tokens and an equity stake. The latest announcement did not mention an equity investment.

Strategic Expansion

The move is part of Payward's plan to diversify beyond its core trading business and expand into asset management, structured yield and tokenized investments. AAVE climbed back above $133 following the news after briefly falling toward $130, according to CoinGecko data.

Bank Interest in Aave

Aave is drawing growing attention from major banks as tokenized assets create new opportunities for onchain lending. Standard Chartered expects AAVE to climb to $3,500 by the end of 2030, arguing that growth in tokenized real-world assets could increase demand for onchain lending.

Citi Research, meanwhile, sees a potentially larger role for the protocol as a decentralized collateral mobility platform, allowing tokenized assets to be borrowed against and used in financing markets. Its Aave V4, Horizon and GHO initiatives could help connect collateral and liquidity across digital financial markets, according to the team.