TLDR
Payward and its asset management clients purchased an undisclosed amount of AAVE tokens through secondary market transactions.
Payward may acquire additional AAVE tokens as it explores possible cooperation with Aave.
Earlier discussions involved 250,000 AAVE tokens and a proposed 15% equity stake in Aave Group.
Aave reported approximately $33 billion in net deposits and $11 billion in active loans.
The investment forms part of Payward’s expansion into digital asset management and decentralized finance.
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and its asset management clients have bought AAVE tokens as it expands into decentralized finance. Announced November 5, the purchases came without a disclosed token count or price. It may buy more.
Payward Purchases AAVE on the Open Market
Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, a fund linked to Payward, took part alongside asset management clients. The buyers obtained the tokens through secondary market transactions.
Payward and Aave are discussing cooperation. 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 announcement disclosed no equity purchase.
Aave Lending Activity and Recent Developments
Aave operates a crypto lending platform where users deposit assets to earn interest or borrow using other holdings as security. AAVE holders vote on protocol decisions.
The network has about $33 billion in net deposits and $11 billion in active loans, according to figures provided in the investment announcement.
Earlier this week, Aave restricted new tBTC deposits and borrowing after Threshold paused token redemptions, as reported by Blockonomi. That 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.
AAVE ownership also gives buyers voting rights, though the newly purchased holdings remain undisclosed. 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.
Kraken Parent Expands Asset Management
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.” He also 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.
Tokenized Assets Draw More Crypto Firms
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.
The post Payward Buys AAVE Tokens as Partnership Talks Continue appeared first on Blockonomi .
