Woofun AI reports that Kraken is negotiating an investment in Aave involving 35,000 ETH for 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% equity stake in Aave Group. The transaction values the deal at approximately $71 million, implying a $385 million valuation for Aave Group as the initial move by Payward Asset Management. This acquisition aims to position Kraken more aggressively within decentralized finance and broader investment sectors.

Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, explicitly denied that Aave Labs sold tokens at a discount, clarifying the discussion concerned tokens already held by the entity. He stated these talks involved multiple market participants seeking deeper, long-term collaboration rather than defining specific agreement terms. Kulechov emphasized that all protocol revenues from Aave and the GHO stablecoin flow directly to AAVE token holders under the "Aave Will Win" initiative, with Aave Labs receiving no share as a service provider.

The team is currently designing Aavenomics 3.0 to implement an automated, non-human-driven buyback mechanism, further decoupling revenue distribution from the operational entity. While Kraken has issued no official comment, its parent company Payward characterized the move as the start of a series of asset management actions.

Woofun AI data shows this aligns with Kraken's strategic focus over the past year and a half on infrastructure, acquisitions, and regulatory milestones.

Over the past year and a half, Kraken has prioritized building infrastructure like the Ink L2 and Nado Perp DEX alongside acquiring Bitnomial, Reap, Backed Finance, and Magna. The exchange also secured regulatory approval to become the first U.S. digital asset bank with a Federal Reserve master account and partnered with Nasdaq on stock tokenization frameworks. These efforts were driven by an anticipated IPO, supported by an $800 million funding round in November that valued Payward at $20 billion.

Despite postponing its IPO on March 18 due to poor market conditions, Payward continues pursuing new capital even after BitGo's post-listing stock decline and Kraken's CFO replacement one month prior to the delay. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi maintains the goal of completing the IPO by the end of 2026, viewing the Aave investment as a narrative enhancer for the prospectus. This marks a calculated pivot to demonstrate growth potential despite broader market headwinds.