Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and its asset management clients have bought AAVE tokens as the company expands into decentralized finance, according to an announcement dated November 5. The purchases were made through secondary market transactions, and neither the number of tokens nor the price was disclosed. Payward said it may acquire additional AAVE tokens.
Fund Participated Alongside Clients
Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, a fund linked to Payward, took part in the purchases alongside asset management clients. Payward and Aave are discussing possible cooperation, but neither company disclosed proposed products, agreed terms or a timetable for any joint project. Neither side announced a partnership.
Earlier discussions in June involved a proposal covering 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% stake in Aave Group. The November 5 announcement disclosed no equity purchase.
Aave Lending Activity
Aave operates a crypto lending platform where users deposit assets to earn interest or borrow against other holdings used as security. AAVE holders vote on protocol decisions. According to figures provided in the investment announcement, the network has about $33 billion in net deposits and $11 billion in active loans.
Earlier this week, Aave restricted new tBTC deposits and borrowing after Threshold paused token redemptions. That action involved a separate lending market.
Aave Labs founder Stani Kulechov said the relationship could bring the platform to more retail and institutional users. Neither company outlined an integration. The newly purchased AAVE holdings carry voting rights, but their size remains undisclosed and Payward offered no voting plans.
Separately, Chainlink pricing services used by Aave featured in recent reporting on lending backed by tokenized assets. That development was separate from Payward's investment.
Asset Management Expansion
Payward is building products around digital assets, investment income and tokenized holdings. Its business also covers trading, banking and services for financial firms. Gurpreet Oberoi, a Payward executive, said the purchase reflected the company's "long-term conviction in onchain credit markets and DeFi" and cited client demand.
The group has expanded through acquisitions. It bought derivatives exchange Bitnomial in a transaction valued at up to $550 million and completed its Reap acquisition in July. Reap provides payment services using stablecoins, while Bitnomial operates in derivatives; both businesses sit outside Kraken's traditional spot crypto trading activities.
Elsewhere, Bullish outlined tokenized share plans across Solana, Aptos and Ethereum this week. Its work with Equiniti concerns stock ownership records rather than DeFi lending.
Payward has not disclosed whether its AAVE holdings will support any customer product or when discussions with Aave might produce an agreement.
