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Payward and clients buy undisclosed amount of AAVE

Payward and its clients bought an undisclosed amount of AAVE on the open market, adding a DeFi investment as Kraken’s parent builds its asset management business.

Crypto Daybook Newsroom2 min read

Payward and clients buy undisclosed amount of AAVE

Payward, the company behind Kraken, and its clients bought an undisclosed amount of AAVE on the secondary market, adding a DeFi investment to Payward’s asset management business. Aave Labs’ announcement on Nov. 5 said the purchases were made through Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, a Payward-affiliated fund, and its clients.

A secondary-market purchase means the tokens were bought from existing holders rather than issued directly by Aave. Payward said it may make additional purchases. The company did not disclose how many tokens it or its clients acquired.

What does the AAVE token give its holders?

AAVE holders can vote on changes to the Aave network and its treasury, according to Aave Labs. The network lets users deposit crypto assets and borrow against them through smart contracts, which are programs that carry out transactions on a blockchain.

Aave Labs said the network had $33 billion in net deposits. The announcement described the purchase as an investment for Payward clients seeking exposure to decentralized finance, or DeFi, which offers financial services through blockchain networks.

Does the purchase include a stake in Aave Group?

The Nov. 5 announcement confirmed token purchases only. It did not mention an equity investment in Aave Group. CoinDesk reported that earlier discussions had included a proposal for 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% common equity stake in Aave Group at a $385 million valuation. That proposed equity deal was not part of the announced purchase.

Payward and Aave are exploring further collaboration, CoinDesk reported, but the companies gave no details. Payward said the investment fits its asset management business, which connects investors with opportunities in digital assets, structured yield and tokenized financial instruments.

Gurpreet Oberoi, Payward’s vice president of asset management and institutional, said the investment reflected client demand for exposure to onchain credit markets and DeFi. Aave Labs founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said working with Payward was a step toward reaching more retail and institutional users.

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