Aave Founder Pushes Back On Kraken Acquisition Reports

Kulechov Rejects Cut-Price Sale Claims

Aave (@aave) Labs CEO Stani Kulechov (@StaniKulechov) has firmly rejected reports that Kraken's parent company, Payward, is in talks to acquire a 15% stake in Aave Group. According to a CoinDesk report citing unnamed sources, the proposed deal would value the protocol at $385 million, which would represent just 30% of the $AAVE token's fully diluted valuation, implying a roughly 70% discount to market.

Kulechov disputed both the framing and substance of the report. "No protocol or product revenue goes to Aave Labs, which is a service provider to the DAO responsible for building and growing Aave," he said. He also clarified that the $AAVE token allocation held by Aave Labs has been the subject of conversations with multiple parties, but strictly in the context of potential long-term strategic partnerships, not a discounted sale.

"Aave Labs owns an allocation of AAVE that multiple market participants have discussed purchasing, directly or indirectly, through deeper long-term partnerships," Kulechov noted, adding that the article's "framing is inaccurate."

The two companies are not strangers. Kraken and Aave have linked up in the past, with Kraken's Layer 2 network Ink launching a white-label instance of Aave called Tydro to serve as its core lending infrastructure.

Revenue Flowing to the DAO, Buybacks on the Way

The denial carries added weight given a major governance shift Kulechov championed earlier this year. His "Aave Will Win" proposal passed with around 75% support in April 2026, redirecting 100% of protocol and Aave-branded product revenue to the DAO and $AAVE token holders, with the DAO in turn approving multi-year funding for Aave Labs.

Aave is currently generating around $134 million in annualized revenue, cementing its standing as the largest Ethereum-based decentralized lending protocol.

Looking ahead, Kulechov also gave an early signal on a significant tokenomics upgrade. "The Aave team is designing Aavenomics 3.0, which includes a new automated and non-discretionary buyback mechanism," he said. The move builds on an existing buyback programme: as of February 2026, the programme had already acquired more than 205,000 $AAVE tokens, representing over 1.28% of total supply, in under a year.

The reports and Kulechov's rebuttal arrive at a complicated moment for the protocol. Aave has been working through governance tensions following a community dispute late last year and is navigating the aftermath of the Kelp DAO exploit in April, which saw Aave's total value locked fall after a KelpDAO bridge exploiter used Aave to convert stolen assets into other tokens, without directly attacking Aave itself.

The Block: Aave founder says AAVE isn't for sale at a 70% discount | Crypto Times: Kraken eyes 15% Aave stake, report | Aave Governance: DAO Funding Insights, February 2026