On Thursday, Payward revealed that a fund and its clients linked to Kraken’s parent enterprise, Payward, purchased an unrevealed quantity of AAVE tokens.
According to the post, the acquisition originated from Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, through secondary-market transactions, though monetary specifics were kept private. The statement additionally hinted at the possibility of acquiring more AAVE tokens in the future.
Gurpreet Oberoi, the vice president of institutional and asset management at Payward, stated in a distinct announcement published by Aave that the allocation demonstrates their enduring belief in decentralized finance and onchain credit markets, alongside rising client interest in gaining exposure to the infrastructure driving financial evolution.
This development comes after Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, disputed a June report by CoinDesk stating that Payward was negotiating to acquire a 15% share valued at $385 million, which represented roughly a 70% discount compared to its true market price at that moment.
Nevertheless, Kulechov did confirm that investors had held conversations regarding the potential acquisition of portions of the AAVE token holdings belonging to Aave Labs via partnership agreements.
Holding AAVE tokens grants participants voting power over the treasury and the protocol. Based on the guidelines of the “Aave Will Win” initiative ratified in April, earnings generated by Aave-branded offerings are directed straight into the DAO treasury.
Kulechov noted that collaborating with Payward represents a calculated move toward introducing Aave to the upcoming generation of institutional and retail participants.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-11-05-payward-affiliated-fund-clients-buy-aave-token-stake-secondary-market-aave-says-434798.
