Payward Acquires AAVE Tokens to Expand DeFi and Asset Management Business
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, purchased an undisclosed amount of AAVE tokens as well as its asset management clients. The investment signals growing interest by the firm in decentralized finance (DeFi), specifically lending on a blockchain and credit markets on a blockchain.
The acquisition was done via Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, a Payward-affiliated investment fund, and the tokens were bought on the secondary market. Payward also said it could make more acquisitions as it grows its footprint in the DeFi ecosystem.# Payward Purchases AAVE Tokens Using Investment Fund
Payward confirmed it acquired AAVE tokens via its affiliate investment fund, Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP. The transaction was done in the secondary market and was done in cooperation with the company’s asset management clients.
The company, however, did not reveal the total amount of AAVE tokens bought or the total value of the investment. Payward also said it is looking at more acquisitions as it builds its exposure to decentralized finance.
Besides the acquisition, Payward is considering potential collaborations with Aave. There is no information on the partnership so far, but the talks suggest a possible link between Kraken’s institutional offerings and Aave’s decentralized lending framework.
At the time of reporting the market data, AAVE was trading at around $132.29, up 1.39% in 24 hours. However, the token was still down 1.89% over the last seven days and 27.62% over the past month.
Why Payward is betting on Aave’s DeFi lending ecosystem
Payward’s investment reflects the growing interest around decentralized lending, which allows users to borrow and lend digital goods through blockchain-based protocols without the need for conventional financial intermediaries.
Aave is one of the largest decentralized lending platforms with ~ $17.06 billion in total value locked (TVL). The broader decentralized lending space has about $52.12 billion across 515 platforms.
Aave is in a strong market position with approximately 32.8% of the total value in the lending sector. The protocol also creates a lot of financial activity through lending activities. Its reported financial metrics are:
- 30-Day Fees: Roughly $39.63 million.
- 30-day protocol revenue: approximately $5.15 million.
- Annualized fees: $624.51m.
- Approximately $88.7 million in annualized revenue.
- Total Value Locked: Around $17.06 billion.
AAVE is also the governance token for Aave, giving holders a vote on important decisions for the protocol. This gives Payward exposure to both the economic activity and governance structure of a major DeFi lending ecosystem.
Aave V4 Markets Expand Institutional Lending
Aave is also building out its infrastructure to attract institutional players. In October, the protocol introduced its first externally curated Aave V4 markets on Ethereum.
The first external curator was institutional DeFi platform Sentora, which operated three isolated lending markets. The move represents Aave’s attempts to go beyond traditional decentralized lending users and cater to more niche institutional finance use cases.
The expansion of Aave into institutional markets could open up opportunities for Payward to connect its asset management business with blockchain lending services.
The company’s investment strategy also reflects increasing client demand for digital assets as well as structured yield opportunities, tokenized investments and on-chain credit markets.
“This investment shows our long-term confidence in on-chain credit markets and DeFi infrastructure,” said Gurpreet Oberoi, Payward’s vice president of asset management and institutional.
Payward expands beyond Kraken cryptocurrency exchange business
Payward’s acquisition of AAVE is part of its broader strategy to expand its financial services beyond cryptocurrency trading. Recently, the company has expanded into the derivatives space, stablecoin payments, tokenized stocks and institutional investment services.
Among its major business developments are:
- Bitnomial acquisition: In April, Payward agreed to buy US derivatives exchange Bitnomial in a deal valued at up to $550m.
- Reap Acquisition: The company completed its acquisition of stablecoin payments provider Reap in July, in a deal worth up to $600 million.
- Ledger Partnership: Payward teamed up with Ledger in September to support the cold storage of tokenized stocks via its xStocks platform.
- Wells Fargo Talks: Payward reportedly held talks with Wells Fargo to provide cryptocurrency liquidity for the bank’s planned digital asset trading services.
These moves suggest Payward is developing a wider financial ecosystem that includes crypto trading, institutional services, payments, and tokenized financial products.
The AAVE investment could also help this strategy by providing additional access to decentralized credit infrastructure and potentially spurring collaboration between Kraken’s institutional business and Aave.
Standard Chartered: AAVE could reach $3,500 by 2030
Aave has also been pointed out for its long-term growth potential. In June 2026, Geoff Kendrick, head of electronic assets research at Standard Chartered, set a price target of $3,500 for AAVE by the end of 2030.
The projection comes as Aave is expected to benefit from a resurgence in DeFi activity and an increasing adoption of tokenized real-world assets in decentralized lending markets.
Kendrick also noted Aave’s resilience following the disruptions caused by the April cyberattack on KelpDAO’s rsETH bridge. The incident triggered withdrawals and raised fears of losses through the lending ecosystem.
The $3,500 forecast, however, is a long-term projection, not a guaranteed outcome. Going forward, the performance of AAVE will depend on DeFi adoption, institutional involvement, market trends, competition and the security of the protocol.
What the Payward AAVE investment means for the DeFi space
Payward’s acquisition is yet another instance of a prominent cryptocurrency company increasing its exposure to decentralized finance. Kraken’s parent company is buying AAVE tokens along with asset management clients to increase its exposure to one of the biggest on-chain lending ecosystems.
The investment size and details of the potential partnership were not revealed, but the move underscores increasing institutional interest in decentralized lending, tokenized assets, and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
