Payward, the parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange, has acquired an undisclosed amount of AAVE tokens. The purchase was executed through Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, an investment fund affiliated with Payward, with participation from the firm’s asset management clients.
The transaction involves only tokens, with no equity stake in Aave Group included. This follows previous discussions in June 2026, which had proposed a purchase of 250 000 AAVE tokens and a 15% equity stake in Aave Group at a valuation of $385 million. That earlier deal was not completed.
The companies have established operational ties prior to this investment. In January 2026, Kraken introduced its DeFi Earn product. Additionally, earlier in 2026, Kraken deployed a white-label version of the Aave protocol on Ink, its Layer-2 network.
Payward and Aave are currently exploring opportunities for further collaboration. The recent token acquisition is part of Payward’s broader strategy to expand its presence in asset management and the decentralized finance sector.
